A Robin in a Nest of Bats
by Browniesarethebest
Summary: 1st in the Reverse Batfamily Series: What if Damian was the oldest and Dick was the youngest? These are snapshots into their lives, and how different the Batfamily would be if their ages were reversed.
1. Nightmare

**A/N: I really need to update my other stories, but I have writer's block for them right now. Instead, I'm uploading some work I've posted to Archive. I know not everyone goes there or may have seen it so I thought I'd post it here too. Enjoy!**

* * *

The boy was quiet, but the slight creak from the door woke Damian instantly. He stayed still, keeping his breathing even and not making a sound as the boy crept over. He could feel eyes on him. He waited for the boy to break the silence first.

"Damian?" 8-year-old Richard Grayson whispered. "Damian?"

Damian cracked an eye open and peered over at him. "Yes, Richard?"

Richard, or 'Dick' as he liked to be called (much to Damian's distaste), bit his lip. He shifted, glancing down at his feet as his fingers picked at Damian's sheets.

"Richard." Some would say his voice was too stern for the still-grieving boy, but it worked well for snapping Richard out of his thoughts—at least most of the time. Said boy looked up quickly.

"I...Bruce isn't home, and I…" _Had a nightmare_. Damian didn't need him to finish. Richard had moved into the Manor a few months ago, but he still had frequent nightmares. Father was always his go-to when they happened. Damian was his second choice when the first was gone. He had been somewhat annoyed by it at the beginning but had long since grown used to it. He had warmed up to the boy, something he denied whenever Drake or Brown tried to tease him about it.

Taken out of his thoughts, Damian simply lifted his blanket, knowing that that was enough invitation for Richard, who scrambled into the bed with wild limbs. Richard settled quickly, snuggling up against Damian. The boy draped his older brother's arm over his body, knowing that Damian didn't mind but would never instigate the action himself, and sighed happily.

"Night, Dami."

Damian looked down at the boy—this boy who had somehow dug his way into Damian's heart, more than his other siblings had—and curled his occupied arm tighter.

"Goodnight, Richard."

* * *

 **A/N: The first few chapters are gonna be a bit short, but they'll get longer soon.**


	2. English Lessons

**A/N: Okay, here are the ages.  
**

 **Bruce: 40s (About 44 or 45)**

 **Damian: 24**

 **Stephanie: 18**

 **Cass: 16**

 **Tim: 15**

 **Jason: 11**

 **Dick: 8**

 **Babs: 5**

 **Babs won't show up for a few chapters, but she should show up soon.**

* * *

Tim held up a card.

"Apple." Dick said. Tim held up another card. "Um...Tiger."

Dick had moved in just a month ago. In that time, he had grown used to the Manor's dark, maze-like halls, warmed up to the idea of having brothers and sisters, and found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman and the rest of his siblings were his partners.

What he had not done was master English.

His Mami and Tati had taught him some, enough to hold a _very_ basic, fractured conversation, but Bruce said that he had to go to school soon, and that he needed to learn English first. Everyone helped in their own way, but Dick liked Timmy teaching him the most. Timmy had colorful cards with pictures on them. He was also a lot more patient.

They were still only on basic cards, but Tim was confident that Dick would move onto the more complicated cards and sentences soon.

"Timmy? S-Snack now?" Dick was starting to get a headache trying to remember all these words. Food usually made his headaches better.

"How about we get through a few more. Then, we can have a snack." Dick nodded, understanding most if not all of what Tim said.

"What's up?" Jason suddenly popped up behind Dick, causing him to jump. He turned around with a beaming smile though.

"Jay!"

Jason chuckled and ruffled Dick's hair. "Hey, Dickie." He glanced over at Tim and noticed the cards. "English time?"

Dick nodded solemnly. "English time. No like. Hard. Want snack."

Jason bit his tongue in order to keep from laughing. "Yeah, English sucks. Lots of double—even triple—meanings. You'll learn, better than Cass at least."

When Cass first showed up at the Manor, she could perfectly read and write English and understand when it was spoken; she just couldn't speak a word of it. She begrudgingly learned enough to get by in school but refused anything more. She prefered to speak with body language.

Dick puffed his cheeks and turned back to Tim, who held up another card. "Playground!" Dick's eyes lit up. "Timmy! We go playground?"

This time, Jason laughed with Tim joining in. He secretly hoped Tim would say yes. Jason loved the playground.

"Sure, Dick. We can go to the playground after we have a snack."

Tim started putting the cards away as Dick bounced around, knowing they wouldn't get any further with English lessons with Dick so distracted.

"Jay! Jason! Go playground!" Jason grinned and took Dick's hand, leading him towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, Dickie. I'll go to the playground with you guys. I wanna swing."

"Swing!"

Tim stood, leaving the cards on the dining table. He'd put them back in his room after they got back. He hurried to the kitchen. Alfred would be upset if they ate anything too sugary—not to mention how scary Dick was on a sugar high. The kid could be worse than a Gotham villain.

Tim shuddered and quickened his pace. No, there was no way he was going to let that happen.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at .com. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**


	3. Kidnapping

**A/N: Warning: There's mentions of pedophilia in this chapter.  
**

 **Also, hero names:**

 **Damian - Shadowbat**

 **Stephanie - Spoiler**

 **Cass - Blackbat**

 **Tim - Redbat**

 **Jason - Kid Bat**

 **Dick - Robin**

* * *

Dick was sitting in class, working on math problems, when the intruder alarm went off. The panic on the teacher's face told Dick that this was not a drill, and a bolt of fear shot through Dick. Jason was a couple hallways away. He hoped Jason would be okay.

The teacher, Ms. Hanson, locked the door and quickly ushered the children into the farthest corner from the door. Dick bit his lip. He wished he knew what was going on. Was there only one intruder? Were there twenty? Fifty? Why were they here?

Dick pressed the emergency beacon on his belt, knowing Jason would do the same. He let out a shaky breath. Batman would be here soon. They'd be fine.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a bang at the door. A few of the kids let out screams, quickly shushed by the teacher, but it was too late. The intruders knew they were in the room. The banging grew louder—some of the kids were crying now—when suddenly the door burst open, sending splintered wood to the floor. Armed men in black filtered into the room, pointing their guns at the children.

"We don' wanna hurt anyone." One man sneered. "This c'n all be over real quick. Just tell us which one of ya's is Richard Grayson. We know he's in here."

"Nooo!" Dick heard Jason yell in the hallway. "Don't touch him!" There was the sound of a scuffle and the unmistakable crack of metal against flesh. The hallway fell silent.

"Jason!" Dick couldn't help but blurt out. The man who first spoke zeroed in on him. Dick's eyes widened in terror as he tried to run, but the first man was quick and grabbed him easily. He was yanked up and flung over the man's shoulder.

"Please. Please don't do this." Ms. Hanson stood, holding her hands up placatingly. "They're just children. Please."

The man swung his gun at the woman, smacking her in the head and knocking her to the ground. "Shut yer trap, lady! Or one o' these kiddies is next!"

Ms. Hanson didn't move, presumably unconscious. The rest of the kids started shrieking, but the first man paid them no mind. He lugged Dick out of the classroom. Dick could see Jason unconscious over another man's shoulder, blood trickling from his temple.

Dick whimpered. "Jason?"

They were taken to a white van in front of the school and thrown in the back. They were both tied up and blindfolded and were soon left alone. Dick tried not to cry as the van started up. This was his first time being kidnapped. Jason wouldn't wake up, and Dick didn't know what to do. He had to be brave though. Bruce and the others would save him and Jason soon. He just had to hold out long enough. He decided to kill time by going over some of the more complicated English words Timmy had been teaching him.

 _Firetruck...debris...tricycle...handkerchief…_

The van soon stopped, and Dick and Jason were yanked out of the van. He was carried inside of a building—a warehouse judging by the echo—and was tied to a chair. The blindfold came off, and Dick could see Jason sitting across from him. One of the men kicked Jason's chair.

"You gonna wake up soon or what, kid?" Jason didn't respond.

Another man approached, and Dick immediately knew he was the leader. He held himself with a calmer confidence than the other men, and the other men fell silent and looked to him as he walked closer to Dick.

"You scared, chum?" Dick bristled at the nickname. Only Bruce was allowed to call him that. "This is your first kidnapping, huh? Don't you worry your little head. Everything will go real smooth as long as your old man gives us the dough." Like pizza dough? Why would they want that? "Any problems and—well, it won't turn out to swell." The man grinned, his yellow teeth inches from Dick's face.

"Your breath is gross." Dick wrinkled his nose. Jason would say that, right? He always had something to say when someone was being mean to him.

Dick's head snapped to the side, his cheek stinging. His eyes watered, and he couldn't help but sniffle.

"Hey!" He turned and saw Jason's head rising slowly. "Don' touch him, y' dirty bastards." Alfred would not be happy if he heard Jason talking like that. Dick was just happy that Jason was awake.

"Then teach him some better manners." The man spat on Jason and walked away. He stopped by the man standing closest to the boys. "If Wayne doesn't answer within an hour, do whatever you like to the younger one, Rick."

Rick grinned and looked at Dick, licking his lips, sending shivers down Dick's spine. He had an idea of what this man wanted to do, and he really hoped Batman and the others would get there soon.

When the leader was gone, Dick turned to Jason. "Jason? You okay?"

Jason smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay, Dickie." He sounded a lot better at least. "You just hold on, okay? Batman will be here soon."

"Have you been taken before, Jay?"

Jason nodded, wincing as pain shot through his head. "Yeah, but don't worry about me. How are you doing?"

Dick bit his lip. "'M okay. I didn't get hit like you did."

"I'll be fine. I've gotten worse."

"Shut up, or I'll do it for you." One of the men growled—not Rick. Dick gulped and looked down. Jason glared at the man.

* * *

An hour later, the leader came back in, a cruel smile on his face. He looked over at Rick. Rick grinned and turned to Dick. Dick wanted to throw up.

"Looks like Brucie didn't come through for you." The leader sneered. "Rick, you know what that means."

Rick sauntered over to Dick and grabbed him, causing him to cry out. Jason shouted and tried to get out of his binds.

"Shut the fuck up, kid, or Richard here is gonna go home missing a few fingers." Dick let out a sob as Jason fell silent, and the man began to feel him up. Rick's grimy hands against his stomach sent shudders through his body. His hands started going lower when the lights suddenly went out. Rick removed his hands, and Dick sighed in relief.

"Get the lights back on!" Dick heard the leader yell. The sounds of bodies hitting the floor echoed throughout the warehouse. Gunfire went off, lighting up the dark warehouse like strobe lights. Dick could see the shadows of his siblings. He smiled.

"Dick!" Jason yelled. "Duck your head!"

Dick did as he was told, squeezing his eyes shut. It would be bad if his siblings had come all this way just for him to get hit in the head by a stray bullet.

He suddenly felt hands on his arms and let out a scream, only to be shushed.

"Shh! I'm going to cut you free. Shadowbat's— _Damian's_ —voice reached his ears, and he relaxed. Damian would keep him safe. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he looked over to see Spoiler cutting Jason free. As soon as the rope came off, he flung himself at his oldest brother, gasping as he tried to keep back the tears.

"I've got you." His brother murmured. He put a hand to his ear. "Redbat. Batgirl. We've got them. Let's clear out."

The gunfire ceased, and the lights came back on. Dick blinked, letting his eyes adjust before taking a look around the warehouse. All of the men were either unconscious or tied up. Batgirl came over, and Shadowbat handed Dick to her. Dick clung to her, watching as Damian marched over to one of the conscious men. He yanked the man up, fisting his hands into the man's shirt.

"You're going to tell me who hired you, and you're going to do it now." Damian growled.

"Y-You don' scare me." The man stuttered. Shadowbat smirked, sending the man into hysterics.

"Okay! Okay! It was Black Mask. Saw an opportunity with the new kid, ya know? Thought it'd be easy. Then thought two kids in one, ya know? Get more money. That's all I know, okay!"

"Good." Shadowbat punched the man, knocking him out like his friends. He dropped the man and looked over at his brothers and sisters. "Let's go."

"Police have already been notified." Redbat said. Shadowbat nodded and made his way outside with the others following quickly.

* * *

As much as Dick wanted to be taken straight home, he and Jason had to wait for the police to arrive. Bruce was with them, running up to the two boys and taking them into his arms.

"I'm glad you're safe." Bruce said, letting go of them and squeezing their shoulders.

"We're good, and we got to see Shadowbat and Redbat and Spoiler and Batgirl!" Dick grinned. This was the first time his civilian identity would have met them. He was going to play it up as much as he could.

"I'll have to thank them next time I see them." Bruce smirked.

"Can we get ice cream?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, Bruce. Can we get ice cream?" Jason asked.

The boys both gave him puppy dog eyes, causing Bruce to sigh. He could never really say no to those eyes. Both boys cheered and started dragging Bruce to the car. Bruce looked over at the Commissioner, who smiled and nodded. The boys had already given their statements and had been checked out by the paramedics; they were free to go.

* * *

"Jay?" Jason opened his eyes and peered over at the clock. 1:47 AM. He groaned and turned over, seeing Dick standing at the side of his bed.

"Yeah, Dickie?" He murmured, rubbing his eyes.

Dick bit his lip and looked down. "Had a nightmare 'bout the man."

Jason thought for a moment before suddenly understanding. He growled quietly, causing Dick to whimper. He stopped and reached out for his younger brother.

"Did you want to sleep with me tonight?" Dick nodded and quickly scrambled into the bed, curling into Jason's side. Jason smirked as he wrapped his arms around the boy.

Damian and Tim were gonna be so jealous in the morning.

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 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at .com. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**


	4. Christmas

**A/N: Fucking Fanfiction. I realized that when I said "follow me at..." it just came out as .com. I'm not going to fix the previous chapters, but I can fix it for future chapters.  
**

* * *

"Dami?" Damian's eyes moved from the book he was reading over to Dick. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes, Richard?"

"Is Santa gonna know that I'm at the Manor instead of at the circus this year?"

Damian opened his mouth, ready to tell the boy that that was ridiculous—Santa didn't exist—when Brown jumped in.

"Of course, he'll know! He's Santa!" Stephanie beamed at Dick. Dick gasped excitedly and ran off, shouting something about having to make a list. Once he was gone, she turned to Damian.

"Don't you dare ruin Christmas for him." she growled, poking Damian in the chest. "This is his first Christmas without his family. We're gonna make it the best one ever. Got it?"

Damian narrowed his eyes and pushed down the urge to grab her hand and break it. "He'll have to learn eventually." He turned his nose up at her.

Stephanie glared. "He's eight years old, Damian. I know you didn't exactly have a normal childhood, but most eight-year-olds still believe in Santa. He's already lost his parents. Don't take this away from him too."

Stephanie turned and left before Damian could reply. He gritted his teeth and stalked off. Brown had a point, not that he was willing to admit it. This would be the first time they would pretend that Santa existed though. Damian had never believed—hadn't even heard of Santa until he came to the Manor. Stephanie, Cassandra, and Tim were too old to believe by the time they became part of the 'family'. Jason was at the age of belief when he had been adopted, but his family had never been able to afford to keep up a pretense of Santa, so they hadn't needed to pretend for Jason. Richard though…

Damian sighed. As much as it would pain him, he'd pretend—if only to avoid the wrath of the rest of the family.

* * *

"Tim!" Jason came barging into Tim's room, much to his annoyance. He was currently working on calculus homework and didn't want any distractions.

"Can't you bother me later? I'm in the middle of something."

"This is important! Please, Tim?" Tim sighed and set his pencil down. There was no way he was going to get his homework done with Jason begging. He spun around in his chair, giving the eleven-year-old a pointed look.

"What is it?"

"I don't know what to get Dick for Christmas!" Jason flung himself onto Tim's bed, pushing books and papers aside to make himself comfortable. Tim hoped he hadn't messed up the pages too much.

"Why don't you just ask him?" Tim turned back to his calculus work, hoping that would be enough for Jason.

"I tried! He won't tell me!" Jason moaned, moving so that he was hanging from the bed. "He says that the gift has to be 'from the heart' and telling me would mean I wouldn't put a lot of thought into it or whatever."

Tim set his pencil down once more, worried. "Is that what he really said?" Shit. What was he going to get Dick now? He was originally going to get Dick an iPod, but was that heartfelt enough?

Jason groaned. "You see! Not that easy!"

Tim sighed and stood. There was no way he was going to get his homework done now. "Come on, let's see what the others are getting him. Maybe we can brainstorm together—make it easier for all of us to figure out what to get him.

Jason rolled off the bed and stood. "Yeah! That's a great idea! Let's go!"

* * *

"I already got my gift for him." Stephanie said, smirking. Cass stood next to her, nodding—she had already gotten her gift for Dick too. Tim and Jason groaned and turned to Damian. Damian's smirk matched Stephanie's, and the boys threw their hands into the air.

"How have you all already figured out what to get him!" Jason cried. He pointed at Damian. "Especially you, Mr. I-Can't-Have-Feelings!"

"Did you come up with that name all by yourself?" Damian snarked. Jason glared.

"Okay. Okay." Tim stepped between them. "How about this? Why don't you guys tell us what you got him, just so we don't accidentally get him the same thing?"

Stephanie pursed her lips for a moment before nodding. "Okay, that's fair enough. But don't you dare get him the same thing." She pointed her finger at Tim, who held his hands up. "I got him plushies of all our superhero selves, plus Batman."

Damn, that was actually pretty good.

"Made plushie of Robin. Stephanie help." Cass said. And damn, that was pretty good too. Everyone turned to look at Damian, who gazed back steadily.

"The first thing Father gave me when I came to the Manor—besides the position to be his partner—was a framed photo of Alfred, him, and myself. He told me photos hold cherished memories, and that they are priceless. So I got him a framed photo of all of us together."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"I think that's the most sentimental thing that's ever come out of your mouth." Jason said. Damian sent him a glare.

Tim sighed, asking almost desperately, "Can you guys think of anything that Jason and I could get Dick?"

They shook their heads. Stephanie spoke. "Nuh uh, Tim. We all came up with ours on our own. Besides, it won't really be from the heart unless you come up with it yourselves."

Tim and Jason groaned and walked away, dreading the disappointed face Dick will give them if they didn't come up with something.

* * *

"Bruce! Bruce! Bruce! It's Christmas!" Dick jumped on top of the man, shaking him until he groaned.

"All right. All right. I'm getting up." Bruce sat up and glanced at the clock as Dick ran out of the room shouting Damian's name. 8:05 AM. How did the kid wake up so early? Jason, Tim, and Stephanie never got up this early. Damian and Cassandra did, but they never woke him up.

By the time he made his way downstairs, still dressed in pajamas, the others were all sitting around the tree. Jason looked like he was falling asleep on Tim's shoulder, but everyone else looked alert enough. Dick was busy pointing out all the presents to his siblings.

"Look! Look! Santa came! And he brought everyone presents!" He ran up to Damian, who somehow managed to look more put together than Bruce, even though he was also in pajamas (at least he had a shirt on). "Dami! Dami, look! You got presents too!"

"I see, Richard."

Alfred came around with coffee and hot chocolate, which were grabbed gratefully from everyone. Soon, Dick was settled enough that presents could be passed around. It was agreed that Santa's presents would be opened first and then the family's presents.

"Whoa!" Dick hugged the present he had just opened—a game console—and stared at his family in awe. "Santa never got me anything like this before!"

"You must have been extra good this year." Stephanie said, smiling at him. Dick beamed.

Opening Santa's presents went well enough. Jason also got a game console along with the latest games. Stephanie was given jewelry and dress she had been eyeing at the mall (she didn't even want to think of how Bruce had possibly known about it). Cass got some books she had been wanting but hadn't had time to get. Tim got the latest laptop model. Damian received a bamboo mat katana. He nearly thanked Bruce for it but quickly caught himself and changed his thanks to Santa. Bruce, of course, didn't receive any presents from Santa and neither did Alfred.

Now, it was time to open the family's presents to each other.

Dick went first, handing a present to each family member. Damian opened his first, which contained a sketchbook and pencils.

"I know you like to draw so I got you a book to draw in, and there were all these cool pencils in the store that came in different sizes. Alfred says that they help with lines and shading and stuff." Dick looked up at Damian, grinning widely. "Do you like it?"

Damian nodded. "I like it very much. Thank you, Richard."

Dick's grin grew wider as he ran to give Stephanie her gift. When she opened it, she found two large pillows that looked like waffles. Stephanie burst out laughing, picking up Dick and squeezing him to her body as some of the others chuckled. "Oh my god, Dick. I love them! Thank you."

Dick giggled and waited for Stephanie to let go before making his way over to Cass. Her present was a DVD of The Little Mermaid. She looked to him questioningly. Dick bit his lip before speaking.

"There's a princess named Ariel who loses her voice and so she has to try to get Prince Eric to like her without speaking, so—so I thought of you. Alfred said that we don't have any Disney movies here, which I think is weird 'cause Disney's awesome, so we got some. I thought maybe you'd like this one as a present." Dick looked up at her shyly. Finding a gift for Cass had been a little tougher than the others, so he hoped that she liked it.

Cass smiled, resting a hand on his head. "I like it."

Dick smiled widely, his whole face lighting up, and hugged Cass. "Can we watch it tonight? Please? Please?"

At Cass's nod, Dick cheered and ran off to grab his gift for Tim. He held it up to Tim, who took it with a small smile and unwrapped it carefully. It was a poster, and Tim choked as he unrolled it. Stephanie leaned over to look at it and burst out laughing.

"Oh my god!" She squealed. "It's Conner!"

It was an official Superboy poster. Conner was posing with his arms crossed and a smirk as he winked. Tim turned red.

"Do you not like it?" Dick asked worryingly. "I wasn't sure what to get you so Jason said that you and Superboy were really good friends and that you'd maybe like something that reminded you of him so he said to get you a poster." Dick's lip was beginning to wobble. Did he get Timmy a bad gift?

"It's fine, Dick. I love it." Tim reassured the boy. He sent a dark glare at Jason, who was desperately trying not to laugh, when Dick looked away. A snicker escaped as a thought went through Jason's head.

"Hey, Tim. You should get him to sign it." Tim smacked Jason as Dick came over with Jason's present.

Jason immediately tore into his gift when it was handed to him and held up an action figure of Kid Bat.

"Sweet!" Jason grinned. "It's me!"

"It's the newest version, see?" Dick pointed. "The old version was of Timmy, but they changed the parts that you changed when you became Kid Bat."

Jason grabbed Dick in a hug, ruffling his hair. "It's awesome! Thanks, Dick!"

Bruce's present was held up shyly by Dick. It was small—contained inside an envelope—and held a picture.

"I wasn't sure what to get you, so Alfred said I should draw you a picture." Dick said, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

The picture had 'My Family' written at the top. Below it, each family member was represented as a stick figure. Bruce smiled at some of the facial expressions Dick had given them.

"I ran out of room so I had to put myself in the corner." Dick pointed as the others came over to take a look. Stephanie and Jason were laughing while Damian was frowning.

"You got everyone just right." Jason said, snickering.

"I really like how you drew everyone's hair." Stephanie commented.

"I love it, Dick." Bruce really did. He was framing this and putting it in his room.

The rest of the gift-giving went as well as expected. Dick had also drawn a picture for Alfred, who said he'd hang it on the fridge. Small fights broke out as gag gifts were given (Stephanie's gift of condoms to Damian was _not_ appreciated). Thanks and hugs were shared. At one point, a tickle fight had broken out when Stephanie had given her gift to Dick. Damian was declared the winner when Dick had taken refuge behind him, and Damian had refused to let anyone get near him. Finally, Tim and Jason were the only ones who had not given Dick their gifts yet.

"This is a joint gift from us." Tim said, handing Dick their gift. Dick's eyes lit up in curiosity as he unwrapped it, revealing a scrapbook. He flipped it open and gasped, tears springing to his eyes.

"I contacted Haly's about getting pictures while Jason put the scrapbook together." Tim smiled nervously. His smile fell as Dick stayed silent and flipped through the book, which contained pictures of everyone Dick had known. It even had some pictures of his family that he didn't already have.

"Dick?" Jason asked, worried. Was it a bad gift? Did they mess up?

Dick looked up, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks as he flung himself at the two. He wrapped his body as much as he could around them as he began to sob.

"Th-Thank y-you." Dick cried. "I—I love it."

Tim and Jason wrapped their arms around Dick to keep him from falling, sighing in relief.

"Glad that you like it." Jason was grinning again. "Now, can we go eat? I'm starving!"

The group laughed and stood, making their way to the dining room. Dick held Jason and Tim's hands, chattering about playing games and watching movies after breakfast.

This had been a good Christmas, the brightest one yet. Damian didn't regret not telling Richard about Santa. He understood now that the boy had needed it, and maybe the rest of the family did too.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at browniesarethebest . tumblr .com. Obviously, subtract the spaces. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**

 **Also, if you wanna see the picture that Dick drew, go to my tumblr blog and find the plus sign. Options will drop down. Click on the one that says Reverse Batfamily and scroll down until you find the picture. There isn't a whole lot in that tag at the moment so it should be fairly easy to find.**


	5. Getting a Younger Brother

**A/N: I looked up everyone's birthdays (most of which are in the August/September months) so everyone but Dick and Cass (her birthday is in January) are about a year younger in this. I couldn't find Damian's birthday.  
**

* * *

Bruce and Tim were the only ones at the circus that night.

Bruce was going on a date to keep up his playboy appearance, and Tim had been a huge fan of the Flying Graysons for years. Tim had decided to sit away from the couple. Sitting with them would have been awkward (that woman was like a fucking octopus when it came to touching Bruce), and the woman would have just thrown glares at him when she thought Bruce wasn't looking (like she did in the car).

As the Graysons' bodies slammed into the ground, Tim regretted his decision to not be near his guardian. He sat, frozen, as screams filled the tent. He wanted to look away so badly, but his eyes wouldn't move—stuck on the broken, bloody pulp that were the Graysons. And then there was a moving body among them and _oh god_ it was the kid—their kid who had seen the _whole thing_. Tim stood finally, racing to the crying child who was shaking his family and getting blood all over him and screaming in some language that Tim didn't know. Bruce got there at the same time—without his date—and pulled the child away. The kid tried to fight, reaching for his family, but he was no match for someone who went out as Batman every night. Tim just stood and watched as the kid collapsed against Bruce, heaving. The police eventually showed up, and the child was taken away.

A sudden hand on his shoulder caused Tim to jump. His head snapped up to see Bruce looking at him worriedly. He squeezed Tim's shoulder, searching his eyes for...what? Shock? Trauma? Fear? Tim wasn't sure what he felt at the moment. He felt more numb than anything else.

"Are you all right?" Bruce asked. Tim swallowed, unsure how to answer.

"Is he going to be all right?" He countered. The boy was gone now, probably taken to the station.

Bruce didn't answer, once again searching Tim's eyes. Eventually, he just squeezed Tim's shoulder again and steered him towards the exit.

"Let's go home. Tina is already at the car."

* * *

Tim had seen a lot in his time as Kid Bat and Redbat, but seeing that family die so brutally, unable to do anything, left Tim with nightmares for days. He wasn't loud enough to wake anyone up, but he knew that he looked bad. Everyone eyed him worryingly during the day. Looking in a mirror, Tim could tell he was paler, making the dark circles under his eyes stand out more. He couldn't imagine what the kid was going through, having seen it at a younger age than Tim was _and_ being related to the victims.

About a week later, Bruce was sitting them all down in the living room. Most of them had an idea what this conversation was going to be about. Bruce was a sucker for orphans, and this one probably resonated a lot closer to Bruce's own feelings than the rest of them. The kid was the only one of them who had witnessed his family being murdered (at this point they all knew about Tony Zucco), just like Bruce did when he was a child.

"When's he going to be here?" Stephanie asked before Bruce could even start talking.

Bruce was silent for a moment. "I'm hoping within the next few days. There have been some...problems with getting the paperwork done."

"What kind of problems?" Jason looked curious. He wasn't sure how to feel about the situation. It'd be cool not to be the youngest in the family and to have a little brother, but there was a little voice in the back of his mind wondering why Bruce needed another kid.

"They're searching for other family, but it doesn't seem like that will lead anywhere. The fact that Richard doesn't speak English is another issue. Now, they're trying to see if he's an American citizen. The circus needs to provide a birth certificate. I've been trying to speed it up as much as I can, but there's only so much that I can do." Bruce looked frustrated with himself and then suddenly angry. "And then, of course, there's the matter of where he's been placed."

"What do you mean?" Damian finally spoke.

Bruce clenched his fists. "Apparently, the orphanages in Gotham are full, though I'm beginning to believe some of them just didn't want to take in a traumatized, non-English speaking child. They had nowhere to put him, except for the juvenile detention center."

Gasps filled the room. Damian and Stephanie stood, outraged.

"Jesus, Bruce." Tim breathed. That was no place for a child, especially a traumatized one like Richard.

As much as Damian didn't want another 'sibling', he couldn't imagine what it would have been like if Colin had been placed there. He wasn't going to allow a child to stay there if he could do anything about it.

"Get him out, Father. As soon as you can." Damian stormed off, most likely to go train. It usually helped to calm him down.

"Whatever you need us to do, we can do it." Stephanie looked determined, as did everyone else. Bruce felt pride as he looked over everyone.

"I'd like it if you could go out and get some stuff to set up for his room. It'll be next to Jason's. I don't know what he likes so just start with something basic. He can choose how to decorate his room once he gets here."

Jason stood and saluted. "We can do it! Come on, guys!"

Jason, Stephanie, Cass, Tim left, leaving Bruce alone. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a messy introduction, he just knew it. But when was it not? Everyone that Bruce had adopted had been (for lack of a better word) messed up in some way when he had first brought them into his home. Damian had been trained as an assassin for his whole, and he did not take to Bruce's way of fighting crime well at first. The kid had eventually calmed down enough to stop killing and maiming, much to Bruce's relief. Tim's father had still been alive when he had come to the Manor but, even at his young age, Tim knew his father would never be able to take care of him if he woke up (he eventually did but was later killed). Damian also was not very subtle about his dislike of Tim, which led to some nasty arguments. They still fought a lot, though it was a lot less violent these days (mostly because Damian had somewhat warmed up to Tim after an incident with the Joker). Stephanie's father had also still been alive (and he still was) when she became part of the family, but he was a villain, leaving Stephanie with some emotional damage. Cassandra had been in a similar boat as Damian, being trained as an assassin but without the ability to speak, though she had at least realized that killing was wrong sooner than Damian had. Jason had been a 'street rat' as he liked to call it. His father had been absent, and his mother had died of overdose. Jason had been a rage-filled boy, similar to Damian, but there had been so many family members at that point that the rage ebbed with the support he was given by so many people.

At this point, Bruce should be an expert on helping troubled children, but every time a new one came, he felt just as lost as the last. Maybe with Richard, he'd be able to help the boy more, better understanding the trauma he was going through better than he had with his other children.

* * *

Jason raced to the front door as he heard it creak open. Bruce and Alfred were finally home! He ran around the corner, skidding to a stop when he caught sight of the kid.

The kid was a mess. Cuts and bruises littered his body, poorly hidden by the oversized jumpsuit he was wearing. Jason's mouth dropped open in shock just as the others came around the corner. They, too, froze when they saw the boy. Stephanie sucked in a shocked breath while Cass just looked sad. Damian was radiating anger while Tim almost looked like he wanted to cry.

"Everyone, this is Richard Grayson." Bruce was giving them that look, the one that said 'get your shit together'. "Richard, this is Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra, Tim, and Jason."

Richard glanced up through his bangs. "Hello." He whispered with an accent they couldn't identify.

Stephanie gently made her way over to him, bending down to be eye level with him. She smiled. "Hi, Richard. As Bruce told you, I'm Stephanie." She held her hand out for him to shake, but Richard flinched away. Her heart broke at the terror in his eyes. "Hey. Hey. Shhh..." She tried to soothe him. "No one here is going to hurt you. I promise."

Richard's eyes darted around the room, confused and scared. He glanced at Bruce, pleading with his eyes for help while also making sure to keep Stephanie in his peripheral.

"I don't think he understands you, Stephanie." Bruce said. "As far as I can tell, he can only speak broken English."

"I sorry." Richard whimpered. He understood what 'broken English' meant. He hoped they wouldn't be mad at him. He just wanted to go back to the circus, but the mean lady said that he couldn't.

"It's okay. You know, Cass here doesn't speak much English either." Stephanie pointed to Cass, who gave a wave and small smile.

"Hello, Richard."

"Dick."

If Stephanie hadn't been crouched right in front of the boy, she wouldn't have heard what he said. "What?"

"Dick." He peeked up at Stephanie through his bangs. "My name Dick."

"Well, all right then. Dick it is." Stephanie smiled once more, trying to relax the boy.

Meanwhile, Damian scoffed. What a ridiculous nickname.

Jason creeped his way over, stopping beside Stephanie. The kid sure was short. How old was he? Five? Six? His youth made the cuts and bruises on his body all the more sickening to Jason.

"Hey, kid. Who did this to you?" He pointed at the various injuries on Dick. Dick looked at Bruce.

"Answer Jason's question, Dick."

Dick bit his lip. "Boys. They no like me. Say I 'fresh meat' and 'gypsy trash'. Hurt me. Say it funny."

Once again, the Batfamily felt rage at the people who hurt this child, but there was nothing they could do about it now. All they could do now was treat the boy better and hope he could learn to trust them.

"Hey, do you wanna play a game?" Jason asked. Dick perked up.

"Game?" Dick suddenly frowned, suspicious. "What game?"

"Um..." Jason wracked his brain for a game that didn't require reading or speaking English. "Trouble?" Jason immediately realized his mistake when Dick's eyes widened, and he prepared to run. "Wait! No! Not that kind of trouble! Um, can someone help?" Jason looked around desperately.

"It's a very fun game." Stephanie tried to soothe Dick once more. "You don't need to know any English to play, just how to read dice."

"...Show me?" Dick was still suspicious, but the blonde lady, Stephanie, was being nice. She wasn't like the mean lady who took him away from the circus and yelled at him. Stephanie talked quietly when he was scared. He liked her.

Stephanie beamed, glad that Dick was willing to show them some trust. "Of course!" She reached out for his hand, which he hesitantly took. Stephanie stood and looked at the others. "Does someone else want to join us and play? We got one more spot."

Cass raised her hand, feeling that maybe she could get along with the boy with their lack of speech. The four of them walked off, leaving Bruce, Damian, and Tim standing by the front door.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Father?" Damian asked. He wasn't sure how he felt about the child yet. The boy was quiet and scared. How would he react to mobs of reporters and kidnappers, all trying to get a piece of the kid? The stares that would follow him everywhere?

How would he react to Batman?

"I'm sure, Damian." Bruce's voice snapped Damian out of his thoughts. "I wasn't going to leave him there any longer."

Damian nodded. "All right. If you say so." He left, leaving Bruce and Tim alone.

It was silent for a moment before Bruce interrupted it. "Are you okay, Tim?"

"What? Oh, uh, yeah." It was a lie, and they both knew it. What little sleep he already got as a Bat was eaten into by nightmares. Maybe seeing Dick here and recovering would help him though. Tim hoped it would. "Look, Bruce. I'll be fine, I promise. I'm just...working through some things."

Bruce watched him for a moment (Tim was really starting to get sick of that) before nodding. "All right, but if you need anything, please come to me. Okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Bruce." Tim smiled. He watched Tim go, finally leaving Bruce alone in the room. He stood for a moment, listening to Stephanie's exaggerated exclamations as the game was played in the other room. He smiled to himself, making his way to the living room.

It would take time, but Bruce believed that Dick would come around to living at the Manor, and his children would come to love Dick as their own.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at browniesarethebest . tumblr .com. Obviously, subtract the spaces. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**


	6. Sick Birdie

**A/N: Monster's Inc. was my shit as a kid.  
**

* * *

Something wasn't right.

Bruce set his newspaper down and looked around the table. Damian was busy reading another copy of the paper as he ate breakfast. Stephanie was chatting to Cassandra about going shopping later as they ate. Tim and Jason seemed to be having some sort of debate over which action movie was better. Bruce's eyes furrowed.

Where was Dick?

"Have any of you seen Dick this morning?" Bruce asked. Usually, he was up before Stephanie and Jason, devouring food just as wildly as Jason (a bad habit he learned from said boy), but Dick was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the empty seat beside Jason. They all frowned.

"Maybe he's still sleeping?" Stephanie suggested, but she sounded worried. It wasn't like Dick to sleep in so late. He hadn't even patrolled last night, which meant he had gone to bed earlier than usual.

"I should have said sooner, though I was going to inform you after breakfast—" Alfred stepped into the room. "—but I believe Master Richard has come down with a cold."

"Oh yeah." Jason said. "That's been going around school. Lots of kids have been out sick."

"Check on him?" Cass asked.

The Batfamily stood and quickly walked to Dick's room. Inside, they found Dick bundled up in blankets, his nose whistling as he breathed. He was sleeping soundly, so his family decided to leave him to let him rest. They'd visit him later once he woke up.

* * *

Dick ended up sleeping until noon. When he woke up, he felt terrible . He broke out into a coughing fit, rattling his aching bones. His eyes were watery, and his nose felt stuffed.

He was _miserable_.

"Dickie?" He heard Stephanie call his name over his coughing. She hurried over to his side, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing his back. His coughing eventually subsided, and he looked up at Stephanie with bleary eyes.

"Steph'nie?" Stephanie continued to rub his back. She grabbed a tissue with her free hand and held it over his nose.

"Blow." Dick giggled but did as she commanded. Stephanie quickly threw the used tissue away and smiled down at the boy. "Are you hungry, Dickie? Alfred made you some soup."

Dick thought for a moment before nodding. Stephanie grinned and stood up, ready to go get the food for him, when Jason suddenly barged into the room. Dick yelped and jumped, sending him into another coughing fit.

"Jason!" Stephanie scolded. Jason froze, eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh, uh...oops?" Jason laughed nervously before making his way to Dick's other side. He hopped onto the bed, ducking as Stephanie swatted at his head.

"Dasonnn!" Dick whined. "You're gonna get sibk!"

"Nonsense, Dickiebird! I'm healthy as a horse! I'm invincible!" Jason puffed out his chest, ducking again as Stephanie made another attempt to smack his head.

"Be careful, Jason! He's sick! He doesn't need you to rile him up!" Dick looked exasperated as Stephanie and Jason broke out into an argument, but his eyes lit up as another figure entered his room.

"Timmy!" His shout stopped the fight going on above him as he reached for his older brother. Tim laughed and set the tray he was holding on the nightstand next to the bed. He scooped Dick up, letting the boy rest his head on his shoulder.

"Are these two being mean?" Tim asked teasingly. Dick nodded solemnly, ignoring the "Hey!" that came from said two. Tim laughed and shooed the others away from the bed. Stephanie and Jason stood reluctantly, grumbling to themselves as Tim set Dick back on the bed. "It's a good thing I got here in time then."

"Did ya bring Albred's soub?" Dick asked, looking at the covered tray.

"I sure did." Tim lifted the lid, revealing Alfred's famous chicken noodle soup. Dick licked his lips and settled back into bed. Stephanie made sure he was propped up while Jason helped Tim set the tray up on Dick's bed.

"Fank you!" Dick chirped and dug in.

"Slow down, Dickie. You don't wanna throw up, do you?" Stephanie laughed and started rubbing his back again. Dick nodded, his mouth full of soup, and began to eat slower. He was halfway through the bowl when he started falling asleep again. The three older siblings stifled their laughter as Tim stopped Dick from faceplanting into the bowl. Stephanie eased him back onto the pillows while Jason and Tim removed the tray table. They tucked Dick's blankets around him. When they were done, they stood for a moment, watching the boy as he slept.

"He sure is a cutie." Stephanie noted, cooing at the sleeping boy.

"I guess." Jason, of course, agreed with Stephanie, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

"Come on, guys." Tim put his hands on their shoulder. He steered them towards the door. "Let's let him sleep.

* * *

A knock on his door brought Damian out of his meditation. "Come in."

"Dami?" Dick trotted into the room and over to Damian's side. He sniffed, clearing his nose a bit. He was starting to feel better but wasn't at 100% just yet. "We're gonna watch a movie. Will you come watch it with me?" Dick peered at him with doe-like eyes.

Damian scowled. He wasn't one for 'family time', but they both knew that Dick's puppy dog face never failed to get Damian to join in. Every time he tried to say no, tears would fill Dick's eyes, and Damian's resolve would crumble. He sighed and stood.

"Fine, but I have to agree to the movie."

Dick cheered and grabbed Damian's hand. "Okay! Can we watch Monster's Inc.? It's a really good movie! Jason says that Cass is like Boo and Alfred's Mike Wazowski and Stephanie is Mike's girlfriend, which is really weird, and he's Sully and you're the grumpy lady! I think you could be Sid though 'cause he's super sneaky like you. 'Cept you're not a bad guy."

Damian glanced down at Dick from the corner of his eye. "Uh huh." He had no idea what Richard was talking about, but he was sure it was an animated movie. It didn't seem to be about princesses at least. "Who does that make Father, Drake, and you?"

"Um..." Dick tapped his chin as they walked down the stairs. "Jason said that Bruce is the evil spider man, but I don't believe that, and Timmy is Sid's sidekick. I don't remember his name. Jason says he could also be the guy that gets shaved and exploded 'cause he had a sock on his back. I'm the yeti!" Dick beamed. Damian definitely had no idea what Richard was talking about now, but the idea of Drake getting shaved made him chuckle.

"Fine. I will watch this movie, but I refuse to be some irritable woman." He'd find a more suitable character for himself—maybe this 'Sid' that Dick was referring to.

"Yay!" Dick tugged Damian into the living room, where the rest of the family had set up with blankets and pillows. Alfred had brought in drinks and popcorn, much to everyone's glee. Dick sat on the couch and yanked on Damian's arm until he sat beside him. Jason sat on Dick's other side, and Tim sat next to Jason. Stephanie and Cass shared the loveseat while Bruce sat in the remaining armchair.

"Dami says we can watch Monster's Inc., but he can't be the grumpy lady." Most of the family stared at him, confused, while Jason smirked. The movie was soon started, and Dick wormed his way under Damian's arm. Damian watched the movie with rapt attention, comparing his father and siblings with Jason's classifications. He glared at Jason when 'his' character came up, but Jason simply grinned at him. He agreed with Dick, he was much more like the Sid character. He thought that Richard should have been Boo, but her lack of speech and the bubbly personality of the yeti justified Cassandra and Richard's character matches.

Dick passed out about halfway through the movie, snoozing peacefully against Damian's side. Had it been anyone else, he probably would have shoved them away, but it was Richard, and Richard got away with just about anything when it came to Damian. When the movie ended, Damian lifted Richard into his arms.

"I will take him to his bed. Good night." He left swiftly, making sure not to jostle his charge. He gently laid the boy down on his bed when he got to his room, making sure to tuck the blankets comfortably around him. He didn't want Richard waking up in the night because he was cold or the blankets were too tight around his body. Damian stared down at the boy for a moment before making his way to the door and shutting off the light. He made sure the nightlight was on and was about to close the door when he stopped and looked back into the room.

"Goodnight, Richard."

Damian shut the door quietly and strode to his room. He still had twenty more minutes of meditation to do before he went out as Shadowbat.

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at browniesarethebest . tumblr .com. Obviously, subtract the spaces. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**


	7. Meeting Barbara

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been really busy with classes.  
**

* * *

Dick hated Bruce's parties. He had to wear a stuffy suit, and people gossiped about him when they didn't think he could hear them. He was currently hiding under the table with a plate of rolls, listening as the ladies standing at the buffet line blabbed about Bruce Wayne.

"And he took in _another_ child! Ronald or Raymond or something." The woman sniffed haughtily. "I mean, first he had the bastard child, but I mean, who could be surprised at that. Brucie has had so many women on his arm. I'm surprised he hasn't had more children. Why take in any other children though? What is the point of keeping them? It can't be for the publicity if he keeps doing it. Besides, there's _so_ many better children he could have taken in than the circus beast." The other woman laughed. Their heels clicked as they walked away.

Dick was on the verge of tears. The whole reason why he was hiding under the table was to get away from the stares and whispers that followed him. It seemed that no matter where he went, people were going to say mean things about him.

"Are you okay?" Dick whirled around to find a little girl, about 5 years old, staring at him. She had crawled under the table and was sitting next to him. She had pretty red hair with a purple headband in it and was wearing a sparkling purple dress that poofed out. Her blue eyes watched him worriedly.

"'M fine." Dick mumbled and wiped at his eyes.

"No, you're not." Her cheeks puffed out as she scowled. She crawled back out for a moment before coming back with a napkin and handing it to him.

"Thanks." Dick sniffled, and wiped his face with the napkin. He held out his hand. Alfred always said to shake someone's hand when introducing yourself. "I'm Dick. What's your name?"

"I'm Barbara." Barbara shook his hand but didn't let go. "It's my first time here. I kept asking Daddy to bring me 'cause I thought it'd be fun, but this party is _boring_." She stuck out her tongue. "Parties are supposed to be fun."

Dick giggled. "Yeah, Bruce's parties are really boring. I wish I could leave, but Bruce says I have to stay."

Barbara's eyes widened. "Oh! You're Dick Grayson, aren't you?"

Dick blushed and looked away, frowning. "Yeah. So?" She was going to treat him differently too. All the kids did when they found out he was Bruce Wayne's new kid.

" _So_ those mean ladies were talking about you. Is that why you're sad?" Barbara frowned. "You shouldn't listen to them. They're stupid."

"That's not very nice." Dick mumbled, but he was starting to smile.

"So's what they said." Barbara picked up one of the rolls and threw it at him. "Now, I'm bored, so let's have fun."

"Did somebody say fun?" Jason poked his head under the table, grinning. "Hey, Dickie! Did you make a friend?"

"Hi, Jay." Dick smiled, but it was more subdued than his usual one. He gestured to the girl. "This is Barbara."

"Hiya, Barbara!" Jason beamed, a wicked gleam in his eye. "I heard that you're bored! I say we ditch this snorefest!"

Dick frowned. "But Bruce said we have to stay."

Jason rolled his eyes. "It's not like we're gonna leave the Manor. Timmy managed to sneak us away and now we're setting up a pillow fort in the living room. Cass went off to make popcorn. I'm here to find you and steal dessert."

"I like pillow forts!" Barbara grinned, eyes wide in excitement. She grabbed Dick's hand and pulled. "Come on, Dick!"

Dick giggled and followed, quickly standing beside Jason. Jason handed him and Barbara a plate.

"Here. Fill this with as many cookies and cakes as you can. We're gonna have our own party." Dick and Barbara quickly did as he said, piling their plates high with food. The three of them headed for the exit, skirting their way around the guests. Some of the adults glanced at them but quickly ignored them and went back to their conversation. The three children trotted into the living room, where half a pillow fort was already built. Barbara set her plate down and gleefully made her way to the pile of pillows, intent on helping to finish make the fort.

Tim looked up from where he was gathering DVDs. "Who's this?"

" _I'm_ Barbara." Barbara raised her nose at him and sniffed. She found it rude that he didn't directly ask her for her name. Tim stifled a laugh.

"Okay, Barbara. I'm Tim. Do you like Disney movies?" Tim held up some movies. Barbara's eyes lit up before narrowing in suspicion.

"Do you have Little Mermaid? It's my favorite 'cause Ariel has red hair like me."

"We sure do." Tim held up the movie, letting out a chuckle at Barbara's excited gasp.

"That's Cass's favorite movie." Dick put his plate down and helped Barbara to build the fort. Jason joined them. "It's 'cause she doesn't talk a lot, like Ariel. She also likes Mulan."

Cass walked in at that moment with the popcorn, which Jason went to grab from her. Cass laughed and ruffled his hair. She noticed there was another person in the room and looked at her curiously.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Barbara." Said girl puffed her chest out proudly and grabbed Dick's hand. "Dick's my friend."

Cass nodded and smiled at the girl. She made her way to the pillow fort, which was just about done, and helped to put the last few blankets in place. They all crawled inside and settled the food in front of them.

Dick looked around, his eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, why aren't Dami and Stephanie here?"

Jason scoffed. "'Cause they're adults, and they're at the adult party. This is the kids and teens party." Dick nodded seriously. It made total sense to him.

The four kids and teens stayed there for hours, devouring the food as they made their way through Disney movies. Barbara and Dick were starting to fall asleep when a startled yell jerked them awake.

"Barbara? Honey, where are you?" The door burst open, revealing Bruce, Commissioner Gordon, and a few cops. The Commissioner sighed in relief when he saw the group.

"Daddy!" Barbara launched herself toward her father. "Look, Daddy! I made friends!"

Commissioner Gordon hugged his daughter tightly, glad that she was safe. He turned to Bruce and the cops. "You can call off the search now. I'm sorry to have disturbed your party, Mr. Wayne."

"Nonsense." Bruce waved him off as the cops left. "You didn't know where your daughter was. I know how it is." He eyed his kids knowingly. "What I want to know is why you guys left the party."

"'Cause it's sooo boring!" Jason whined. "So we had our own!"

"Yeah, Daddy!" Barbara pulled back to look at her father. "We made a fort and watched movies and ate food and it was really fun! Can we do it again?"

"Not tonight, you can't. We're going home." The Commissioner turned to Bruce again. "Thank so much again, Mr. Wayne."

"It was my pleasure." Bruce smiled.

"Can Barbara come over and play again?" Dick asked, eyes pleading. He scampered over to his dad and wrapped his arms around his leg.

Bruce laid a hand on Dick's shoulder. "Only if Commissioner Gordon says it's okay."

Jim hesitated. His daughter was young, just out of toddlerhood, and the youngest in the Wayne household was three years older than her. His wife did say that Barbara needed friends though, and it looked like she had been having fun tonight. He looked down at his daughter's pleading eyes and sighed. Barbara cheered, knowing she had won.

"Just tell me when you leave next time, okay Barbara?" Barbara nodded quickly. Jim hefted her up higher in his arms. "Say goodbye to your friends, Barbara."

Barbara turned and waved. "Bye bye!"

Dick grinned and waved back. "Bye!"

The Commissioner and his daughter left, leaving the Waynes alone.

"I'm tired." Dick yawned. He held his arms out to be picked up, which Bruce granted.

"It's time for you to go to bed." Dick nodded slowly and laid his head on Bruce's shoulder, closing his eyes. "Goodnight, everyone."

Bruce carried Dick to his bedroom. He helped the boy out of his suit and into his pajamas and tucked him into bed. He smiled down at the boy and ran a hand through Dick's hair.

"Goodnight, chum."

"Night, Bruce." Dick snuggled into the blankets, closing his eyes. They suddenly snapped open. "Bruce! I forgot to tell you!"

"What is it?" He looked at Dick, amused as the boy vibrated with excitement.

"Barbara has really pretty hair! Doesn't she? It's really red!"

Bruce chuckled. "Yes, it is. Is that all?"

"Yeah." Dick smiled. "Night, Bruce."

"Goodnight, Dick." Bruce turned off the light and closed the door. Suddenly, he froze, any amusement he felt sliding off his face. Dick had called Barbara pretty—well, he called her hair pretty. Was that the same thing for children? Did Dick have a crush on the girl? Bruce shook his head. No, that was ridiculous. Dick was only 8-years-old. He couldn't have a crush on the girl...

...could he?

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to follow me at browniesarethebest . tumblr .com. Obviously, subtract the spaces. I'd love to hear suggestions or requests :)**


	8. De-Aged Part 1

**A/N: Sorry again for the late update. I've been really busy with classes.  
**

 **Also, I wouldn't be me if I didn't write a de-age fic. It turned out a lot longer than I meant it to though.**

* * *

"This is ridiculous." 17-year-old Damian scowled in his oversized costume. The baby in his arms merely giggled.

"At least you're a teenager." 8-year-old Drake pouted up at him.

"Yeah." 11-year-old Brown hefted the sleeping toddler in her arms more securely onto her shoulder. "I don't wanna go through puberty again. Once sucked enough."

"Yes." 9-year-old Cain agreed as she petted 4-year-old Jason's hair.

"We should probably call Batman. I don't think we'll be able to get back on our own." Tim looked around the alley they were in, curling in on himself. He subconsciously stepped closer to Damian and gripped his cape. Rationally, Tim knew there was nothing to be afraid of—it was just a bunch of shadows—but his overactive child's mind came up with all sorts of monsters that could be hiding in the dark.

"Tt, fine." Damian's eyes widened in surprise, as did Stephanie and Tim's. He hadn't made that sound in a long time, finally overcoming the habit at the age of 19. It seemed that their minds were reverting to act as they did at that age. Damian hoped that their memories would not regress as well. Dealing with everyone, including himself, would be a nightmare.

The baby in his arms cooed at him, bringing him out of his thoughts. Damian shook his head and brought a hand to his ear. "Batman? We need some assistance."

* * *

Bruce frowned at his children. Damian was frowning right back, while Stephanie was smiling at him. Cass was holding Stephanie's hand and watching Bruce silently. Tim seemed to be hiding behind Damian—Tim had once mentioned he had been an extremely shy child, which had thankfully mostly gone by the time he had come to the Manor. Jason was pouting up at him from Damian's other side, but that may have been because he had been denied when he asked to hold the baby in Damian's arms.

 _The baby._

It was one thing to take care of a teenager and children, even one as young as Jason was now, but Bruce had never had to look after a baby. The thought terrified him. What if he accidentally hurt Dick? How often was a baby supposed to be fed? Changed? Bruce shuddered at the thought.

"We'll get this figured out as soon as possible. The results for the blood tests should be ready soon. Whatever was in Poison Ivy's plants that did this should be detectable."

"I wanna hold the baby." Jason crossed his arms and tried to glare at Bruce, but it came out as more of a pout on his cherubic face.

"What if Damian helps you hold the baby?" Stephanie suggested.

"Okay!" Jason reached up, making grabby hands up at Damian.

As Damian helped Jason hold Dick, Bruce pondered their actions. They seemed to be devolving into how they acted at the age they were currently at. Damian had already tutted three times, and Stephanie seemed to be bouncing with energy. Bruce was a bit worried about Cass. Her body was stiff, eyes darting around the room, as she gripped Stephanie's hand. Tim, of course, was more timid, jumping every time some raised their voice even a little bit. Jason was certainly crankier, and Dick, if possible, was more bubbly. He hoped their memories remained intact. It would be impossible to handle them if Damian was the only one who knew him.

"I've taken the liberty of retrieving your old clothes and putting them in the boys' rooms." Bruce nearly jumped as Alfred spoke next to him. He didn't even hear the man come in. "I've also bought clothes for the girls. I did not think they wanted to wear any of Master Jason's clothes."

"You got that right, Alfred." Stephanie grinned at the butler and tugged at Cass's hand. "Come on, Cass. Let's get changed."

"Allow me to dress Master Dick." Alfred took Dick from Damian, who looked relieved. There were many things Damian would do for Richard, but changing diapers was not one of them. "If you could help Master Jason into his clothes, it would be much appreciated."

"I can do it!" Jason pouted.

"I'm sure you can, Master Jason, but I think Master Damian should be there just in case you need help."

Jason whined but didn't argue further as Damian led him upstairs. Tim had somehow disappeared, leaving Bruce alone as Alfred walked off. Bruce groaned, rubbing at his head.

This was not going to be easy. He just knew it.

* * *

Where did he go wrong?

Dick and Jason were currently bawling. Tim was crammed in a nook behind the bookshelf and would not come out. Cass was waving a knife while Stephanie tried to calm her down. Damian was bleeding from his leg, and he was _pissed_ about it.

And an angry Damian was a dangerous Damian.

Alfred was currently out grocery shopping, which left Bruce alone with the disaster.

All he had done was try to gather the family to watch a movie. A movie would keep everyone calm and together. It was during the movie, though, when everything went to shit.

It all started when Jason began to look confused while watching the film.

"Jason?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"What…?" Jason looked around. He stood and backed away from the group.

"Jason?" Stephanie stood. "Are you okay?"

"Who—Who are you?" Jason's lip trembled. "Where's Mommy?"

Stephanie gasped while Damian stood. He approached Jason slowly

"T— _Jason_ , it's all right. Your mother left you here for us to watch."

Jason shook his head. "Nuh uh! Mommy don' know no fancy people like you!"

While Stephanie and Damian tried to calm the boy down, Bruce looked down at Dick, who he was holding in his arms. Any intelligence he had seen in the baby's eyes before was gone. Now, Dick was staring at him curiously as he sucked on his fist. He pulled it out of his mouth with a pop and waved, grinning. "Bah!"

Bruce looked around, suddenly worried. "Tim?" Tim had disappeared. "Damian, where's Tim?"

Damian left Stephanie to calm down Jason as he looked around. He noticed a foot disappearing behind the bookshelf and pointed. "There, Father."

Bruce and Damian approached the bookshelf together and peered behind it. "Tim? Tim, it's okay. Nobody is going to hurt you."

Tim had tears in his eyes as he shook his head. Damian tried to reach in, but his arms were too short, and he and Bruce were too big to climb in themselves. They turned to Cass to ask for her help, but she was also gone. Bruce panicked.

"'M gonna call the po-lice!" Jason shrieked. Tim jumped, and then suddenly Damian yelled, and there was a knife sticking out of his leg. Cass leapt into the room, waving the knife in front of her. Damian yanked the knife out of his leg and glared at Cass. Jason saw the bloody knife and the knife-wielding Cass and screamed. This caused Dick to start sobbing.

Now, Bruce was struggling with a wailing baby, a freaked out toddler, a terrified child he couldn't reach, and a girl who was armed and believed she was an assassin. Luckily for him, Stephanie and Damian still seemed to be themselves, but he didn't dare to hope that would last very long.

First things first: deal with the child with the weapon.

Bruce handed Dick to Damian and stood in front of Cass, putting on his Batman aura. He glared and spoke in his most commanding voice. "Cassandra, _stand down_."

The two stared at each other for what felt like minutes before Cass slowly put the knife down. He pointed to the corner. "Stand over there and wait until I call for you." Cass moved to the corner and stood, watching him intensely.

Next was calming down Jason and Dick.

Bruce had to calm Jason down first; Dick would only stop crying once Jason stopped. He crouched in front of Jason slowly, holding his hands out to show that he meant no harm. He was about to tell a terrible lie, but it was the only way to get Jason to trust him...at least he hoped.

"Jason, your mother is in rehab. You know what that is, right?"

Jason paused in his crying and looked up at Bruce. He slowly nodded. "Yeah. She back there?"

"Yes, Jason. And she wants you to stay here while she gets better."

Jason narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why didn' she tell me she was leavin' me here? Why here? Mommy allllways leaves me with Mrs. Hooper."

"Everyone thought it would be better if you stayed with some other children. That way, you could maybe make some friends."

Jason was silent, eyes searching Bruce—even at that age Jason didn't seem to trust anyone. Finally, he nodded. "'Kay, but no funny business, mister."

Bruce couldn't help but smirk. "No funny business."

Meanwhile, Dick was still crying. Damian was trying to calm him down, but Damian had a hard enough time taking care of child Dick. Trying to appease an infant Dick was practically impossible (only practically because Damian would never admit defeat).

"Give him to me." Stephanie held her hands out. Damian handed the baby to her. Dick was a little heavy for her, so she moved to the couch. There, she slowly rocked him and hushed him until Dick finally fell silent. Apparently, the crying had worn him out because he was soon asleep.

Stephanie looked up at them. "You need help with the other one?"

"Please." Bruce looked almost desperate at this point. Stephanie set the baby down on the couch and hopped off, making her way over to the bookshelf. She peeked behind it and smiled as kindly as she could.

"Hey there...Did all the noise and strangers scare you?" Tim looked up slowly and nodded, hunching in on himself.

"It's okay to come out." Stephanie held out her hand. "I promise. If anything does happen, I'll protect you."

Tim stared at her hand, unsure. Slowly—agonizingly slow—Tim reached out and took her hand. He squeezed out of the bookshelf and stood next to Stephanie, gripping her hand.

Bruce sighed in relief. "Thank you, Stephanie."

"No problem." She grinned nervously. "So, uh, you're Bruce Wayne, right? Can you tell me why I'm here?"

Bruce's heart sank at the unfamiliarity in her eyes. "It's...It's a long story."

"Father?" Bruce turned to Damian. " _Why_ do I have a knife wound in my leg?"

Bruce sighed.

* * *

 **A/N: If you have any requests or prompts, feel free to send them to my tumblr, browniesarethebest!**


	9. De-aged Part 2

**A/N: Sorry again for the late update. I've been really busy with classes.**

* * *

"You took in children?" Damian looked furious.

"I did." Bruce kept his face emotionless. He had already had this talk with Damian. He wasn't going to fight about it again.

"And we have been de-aged by seven years, making me the only one that actually knows you."

"That is correct." Bruce nodded. "I'm going to need your help. They all come from...unique backgrounds. Cassandra's is at least somewhat close to yours. She's been trained as an assassin, but she has not been taught to speak."

"And all these children fight as your partners?"

"Stephanie is actually supposed to be eighteen, so she's not a child anymore, but yes. Along with you."

Damian eyed the baby in Bruce's arms, who was playing with the buttons on the man's shirt. "I will not care for the infant."

"I won't ask you to unless I really need you to." Bruce adjusted the baby. "I've got four kids and a baby who have no idea who I am or what's going on. I can't tell them the truth of why they're here because they definitely wouldn't believe me, except maybe Stephanie. She's always been open-minded."

"I'm not good with children, Father." Anyone who didn't know Damian would say he looked angry, but Bruce had learned his son's tells, and he knew that Damian was actually somewhat nervous.

"I know, Damian. I promise you though, you get a lot better at it when you're older. You just need to try."

"I will do my best, as I always do." Damian glanced away.

"I couldn't ask for anything more." Bruce smiled.

* * *

"So Mr. Wayne says you don't talk." Stephanie had gathered all the children into a circle, trying to keep everyone calm. She still wasn't sure why she or the other children were here, but it definitely beat being at home with her crappy dad. She was kind of worried about Cass, who scared everyone with her attack, so Stephanie tried to befriend the girl. Maybe she could keep the girl from attacking anyone else. She could maybe even get the girl to lighten up.

Cass simply nodded, eyes flitting around the room. She always seemed to be doing that, as if she was calculating potential weapons and escape routes.

"Hm…" Stephanie frowned before brightening. "Hey, do you want me to teach you? That could be fun, right? And you gotta know how to talk in the real world." She looked at the other two children in the circle.

Tim was content to read the books he was provided, but he would look at Stephanie in awe every so often. The girl was so outgoing and social and everything else that Tim wasn't. When she addressed him and Jason, Tim froze.

"Sounds kinda boring but okay." Jason pouted.

All eyes turned to Tim, who slowly nodded. "Okay."

"Cool!" Stephanie beamed. Before they could get started, though, Bruce and Damian walked in with the baby. Bruce crouched down to get eye-level with his kids while Damian just scowled.

"I have to go to work, so Damian is going to watch all of you. He is in charge, so you all need to listen to him. Understand?" Bruce made sure to look every child in the eye, especially Cass and Jason. They all nodded. Bruce stood up and handed Dick to Damian, whose face twisted in disgust.

"Father—"

"I know, Damian. I'm sorry. I have to go to work, though, and Alfred has to come with me. I promise to be back as soon as I can."

"Make it quick." The children watched Bruce leave. Stephanie smiled up at Damian.

"Hi! We're gonna teach Cass how to talk! Wanna help?"

Damian narrowed his eyes at Stephanie. According to Father, this was the future first Batgirl. He didn't see what was so special about her. However, Father said he needed to be 'nice' to the children. Besides, maybe he could dump the infant on the girl. She seemed proficient enough to take care of it. He looked down at said infant, who gurgled at him. Damian scowled at it.

"Fine." Damian sat down and shoved the baby into Stephanie's arms. "Take this."

"Hey!" Stephanie glared. "That's not nice! And he's not a 'this'! He's a him!"

Dick's lip wobbled, and he began to sob.

"Way to go, stupid!" Stephanie tried to rock the baby while Damian fumed.

"It was not my fault. You were the one who shouted." Damian sniffed as he turned his head away from her.

"You're mean…" Jason pouted at Damian.

"I am not here to play House." Damian sneered. "I am here because my father believes you all need to be watched and kept from leaving.

"And someone needs to watch the baby." Stephanie glared at Damian. "I don't think you're the right person though. Do you even know how to take care of a baby?"

"Of course." No, he did not. His mother did not see the need to teach him. He had been training to be a warrior, not a caretaker. "But I will not stoop so low to care for one. That is your job."

Stephanie stared at him. "I'm _eleven_. I don't know how to take care of a baby!"

"You seem to be doing fine on your own." He nodded to Dick, who was slowly calming down.

"Yeah, I can comfort him, but I don't know how to feed him or—or change him!" Stephanie shoved the baby back into Damian's arms. "You take care of him! You're the oldest here!"

"That does not mean I have to take care of him." Damian pushed the baby back into Stephanie's arms.

"Mr. Wayne said that _you're_ in charge, so **you** have to _take charge_ of him!" Stephanie dropped the baby into Damian's arms again.

"...While your logic is objectively sound, that does not mean I will lower myself to caring for an infant. That is _your_ job." Damian shoved the baby back into Stephanie's arms, except Stephanie's arms were beginning to get tired, and the baby slipped. Dick hit the floor with a thump. There was a beat of horrified and tense silence, and then the baby began to wail.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! We dropped the baby!" Stephanie burst into tears.

" _You_ dropped him." Damian glared at her, then glared at the baby. Dick only cried harder.

"Make it stop!" Jason had his hands over his ears while Tim's lip wobbled. Tim didn't like it when people yelled, and the wailing from the baby wasn't helping. While no one was looking, Tim crawled away to go hide.

Cass, meanwhile, was staring at the baby in fascination. She had no idea a person, especially someone so small, could make so much noise. She walked over to the baby and peered down at it, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. Dick's cries subsided as he noticed the girl. He copied her head tilt.

Jason, not hearing the terrible noise anymore, took his hands off his ears and looked up. Noticing the two children staring at each other, he giggled, finding the image hilarious. This caused Stephanie and Damian to stop arguing. When they saw the pair, Stephanie began to giggle as well while Damian frowned.

"Thanks, Cass." Stephanie smiled at the girl. She picked up Dick and rocked him. "I'm so sorry that Damian and I dropped you. I promise we'll never do it again." Damian snorted, causing Stephanie to glare at him. Suddenly, she frowned and looked around.

"Hey, where's Tim?"

* * *

Tim was lost.

He had been trying to find a hiding spot, but somehow he had gotten turned around, and now he had no idea where he was. Tears filled his eyes as he wandered the halls. Thoughts of being lost forever—never being found—plagued his mind. He was never going to go home. Tim stopped and curled up into a ball on the floor. He cried.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. He whipped his head back and saw Cass staring down at him. He was slightly unnerved by her silence and piercing gaze. He held his breath, waiting to see what she would do.

Cass simply removed her hand from his shoulder and held it out to him. Tim eyed her hand warily. He knew what she was capable of and wasn't sure what she was going to do with him. He decided to take her hand and let her lead him, thinking that it was better to risk whatever Cass might do to him than to stay lost forever.

Cass ended up leading him back to the living room, where Stephanie was panicking. When she saw Tim, she handed the baby to Damian and launched herself at Tim, wrapping her arms around him.

"There you are! Why'd you leave? I was so worried!"

Stephanie's words confused Tim. She was...worried about him?

"Why?" Tim asked softly—Stephanie almost didn't hear it.

She looked at him, confused. "'Cause you're my friend."

Tim stared at her, unsure what to think. He had never really had any friends before. Sure, there were some kids he sat with at lunch, but that was just to keep each other from sitting alone. They weren't actually friends. But now, this girl says that he was her friend. He didn't understand why.

"Why?"

Stephanie's confusion grew. "Well, I think you're nice. You're kinda shy, but that's not bad." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Maybe we should teach you to talk more too!"

Now it was Tim's turn to be confused. "But I know how to talk."

"But we can teach you to talk more. Maybe." Stephanie beamed. "Please?"

Tim bit his lip. "O-Okay."

"Yes! Come on!"

* * *

When Bruce came home, he heard talking going on in the living room. He smiled, happy that the children were finally getting along. He walked slowly to the living room. He couldn't quite hear what was being said, but it sounded like Stephanie was talking the most. He found his children all sitting in a circle in front of the TV. Stephanie saw him and gasped, shouting excitedly.

"Mr. Wayne! Look! Look! We're teaching Cass to talk!" She nudged Cass. "Say something!"

Bruce couldn't help but smile, finding the whole thing sweet. Having them get along like this was more than he could hope for—

"Fuck."

...

"Damian!"

* * *

 **A/N: If you have any requests or prompts, feel free to send them to my tumblr, browniesarethebest!**


	10. De-Aged Part 3

**A/N: For once in my life, I have actually finished all of my schoolwork. Hallelujah!**

* * *

Bruce was in the Batcave, working on the cure for the kids. He would have liked to have Damian with him, but he felt that it was better for Damian to watch the kids. Sure, Stephanie was responsible enough, but she was only eleven. Besides, the kids were bound to get into trouble, and Damian would be able to rein them in. Damian wasn't exactly happy about being 'stuck' with the children again, but he understood the importance of keeping an eye on them.

"Master Bruce." Bruce looked up from his work to Alfred, who stood beside him. "I would recommend taking a break—maybe spend some time with the children."

"I can't." Bruce looked back down at the chemicals he was mixing. "They need me to create an antidote."

"I'm sure they'd understand if you took a break. Besides, you should enjoy while they are this age. You won't get another opportunity."

"Alfred…" Had Bruce thought of that? Of course he had. The only one of those children that he had actually known at their age was Damian. He had not only thought of getting to know his children at their current age, but for a moment, he had considered keeping them as they were. He could give them the chance to have a normal—well, _more_ normal—childhood than the one they originally had. But he couldn't do that to them, especially Dick. They deserved to go back to their true ages.

"Sir, as much as I want the children back to their own ages, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Get to know them. The antidote can wait a few hours." At least it was summer vacation, so none of the children had to go to school.

"It's not fair to them for me to wait, Alfred."

"Master Bruce, you have been down here for hours. At least come up for lunch." Alfred glared at Bruce.

At the mention of lunch, Bruce's stomach growled. He held Alfred's gaze for a moment before dropping his shoulders. He had never been able to win an argument against Alfred. Bruce looked back down at his work, narrowing his eyes. He heaved a sigh and stood.

"Fine, but I'm only staying for lunch. Then, I'm coming back down here."

"Of course, sir."

* * *

It was interesting to see that the children still had the same mannerisms as their older selves during lunch. Jason stuffed his face, no matter how much Alfred asked him not to. Cass, Tim, and Damian ate neatly and quietly. Stephanie chatted while eating, occasionally making faces and cooing at Dick. Dick, of course, babbled as he ate. He shrieked with delight at the faces Stephanie made and generally made a mess of himself. He was somewhat neater as a child, but Alfred had yet to get the child to successfully eat without getting food somewhere other than his mouth.

"Bah dah!" Dick used one hand to feed himself cereal while the other hand had a tight grip on one of Dick's stuffed animals—not Zitka since Alfred didn't want to risk anything happening to the elephant while Dick was a baby.

Soon, lunch was finished. Bruce stood, ready to go back to the Batcave, when Dick was suddenly in his arms.

"Master Bruce, why don't you give Master Damian a break and watch the children?"

"But Alfred—"

Alfred just slightly narrowed his eyes at Bruce. "Master Damian has been watching the children for hours. I am sure that he would like a break."

"I would." Damian was extremely wound up from watching them, and it took everything he had not to snap at them whenever one of them annoyed him. "I need to meditate." Damian left before Bruce could argue.

"Alfred, I need to work on the antidote."

"They can wait a few hours. Besides, they should not be unsupervised." Alfred looked at him pointedly.

"But—"

"No 'buts', Master Bruce." Alfred gathered everyone's plates and left the room, leaving Bruce alone with the children. Bruce didn't move, unsure of what to do. Dick was the youngest child he had ever had to take care of. He wasn't really sure what to do with these children, especially Jason and Dick.

"Hmm." Bruce looked around at the children—looked down at the baby. "What...do you all like to do?"

"Play!" Stephanie and Jason's answers were obvious.

"Read." Tim's quiet answer was also expected.

Dick gurgled, which wasn't very surprising either.

"...Fuck?" Well, Bruce tried. He really did, but Bruce gave up any hope with these kids at Cass's answer.

"I have an idea, but you have to listen to everything I say. If you break any of my rules, the fun will be over."

The children's eyes widened at the prospect of doing something fun—the mystery of it adding to the appeal.

"We'll listen!" Stephanie exclaimed, bouncing excitedly. "What is it?"

Bruce smirked. "Follow me."

* * *

As long as everything went according to plan, it was the best of both worlds. Bruce brought the children down to the Batcave, sending them into silent awe for almost a minute. He made sure to keep them away from the weapons and vehicles and kept an eye on them while he worked on the antidote. Unfortunately, he could only work with one arm. He was nervous about leaving Dick with the children, and he didn't have anywhere to safely put Dick down, so he was forced to hold him in one arm.

"Father?" Bruce looked over at Damian, who had just exited the elevator. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" He wasn't expecting Damian to come down here, though maybe he should have. The boy did like to train, a trait that he still had as an adult.

"-tt- I was going to practice with the training dummies." Damian narrowed his eyes. "Does Pennyworth know you're down here?"

"No, and we're going to keep it that way." If Alfred knew that he had brought the children down here, there would be trouble. "I could use your help with the antidote though."

Damian made his way over to his father and looked at the chemicals. He picked up a beaker and narrowed his eyes at the liquid inside. "I've mostly worked with fear gas and Joker gas antidotes. Once or twice, I've made antidotes for Poison Ivy's sex pollen." He peered at the formulas on the computer screen. "I haven't seen anything like this before, but I'll do my best as I always do."

"I wouldn't expect anything more from you." Bruce shifted the baby in his arms to better secure him before going back to working on the antidote.

It was about four hours later when the antidote was finally finished. In that time, he had had to reprimand Jason for trying to wander off multiple times and warn Cass to stay away from the weapons. Tim and Stephanie thankfully stayed put, though he often had to answer questions from Tim when he felt brave enough to ask them. The antidote was finally done though, which meant Bruce could get his children back. He missed them, no matter how infuriating they could get sometimes.

"I need everyone to come over here. Please." As the children scampered over to Bruce, he suddenly had a thought. He turned to Damian, murmuring. "Could you go get everyone's costumes? It'll make this much easier."

Damian did as he was asked and brought the costumes over to the children. Stephanie noticed the costumes and gasped. "Are we going to play dress-up?!"

"...Yes. You're all going to play dress-up." Bruce put a smile on his face as he handed a costume to each child. Cass and Tim looked suspicious, but Stephanie and Jason were excited. Bruce changed Dick into his Robin costume and looked at Damian. "If you don't mind, you and Dick will be going last. It'll make it easier." Damian nodded. Bruce lowered his voice. "I'm going to need you to prepare to grab Cass. She's going first."

Bruce kneeled and looked around at the children. "You guys don't remember this, but I took blood samples while you napped yesterday. You're all sick, but I have something that'll make you better."

Immediately, all the children looked suspicious. Bruce knew they were about to run, so he grabbed Stephanie and shouted to Damian. "Now!"

Stephanie screamed, letting out a cry as Bruce injected her with the antidote. Her body went limp, so Bruce set her down gently and made his way over to Damian, who was struggling slightly with Cass.

"I would suggest hurrying, Father." Damian growled, gritting his teeth. Bruce quickly stuck another needle in Cass and pressed down on the plunger. She, too, went limp.

Tim and Jason had run off, with Jason screaming. This caused Dick to cry. Exasperated, Bruce pressed a needle into Dick and set him down on Stephanie's stomach (He didn't feel comfortable laying a baby on the stone ground). Bruce and Damian glanced at each other for a moment. They nodded and took off for a child. Damian went after Tim while Bruce chased after Jason.

Tim was proficient at hiding, but Damian knew this cave better than him and was able to find him easily. He dragged the child back to the lab and grabbed a needle, roughly pressing the needle into Tim's arm. Damian let Tim drop to the floor and watched as his father plucked a running Jason from the ground. Jason shrieked, but quickly died down as the antidote was injected into his body. Bruce carried Jason over to the lab. He frowned at Damian when he noticed Tim slumped on the ground. Damian simply shrugged, not caring.

Bruce set Jason on the ground and walked over to Damian. They stared at each other for a moment before Damian held out his arm. Bruce took his arm and injected the antidote into it. Damian slumped, but Bruce caught him and gently laid him on the ground.

* * *

Bruce probably should have put them in their beds instead of leaving them on the ground, but it was too late to do anything now. He watched them slowly grow, adjusting their costume whenever it was shifted out of place.

Stephanie was the first to wake up, as expected. She groaned and sat up, unconsciously grabbing Dick so that he did not slide off her body. She looked around, confused, and cracked her neck. She noticed Bruce and stood shakily, adjusting Dick so that his head was against her shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" She rubbed at her head. "What was I doing on the ground?"

"I'll explain when the others are awake." Stephanie looked around and noticed the others. Her eyebrows shot up.

Cass was the next to awaken. Then Tim. Then Jason. All three groaned and sat up within moments of each other.

"Did the Batmobile run over me?" Jason whined. Bruce, Stephanie, and Tim snorted.

Dick moaned from Stephanie's arms. "Tati?"

"He's here, Little Bird." Stephanie ran a hand through his hair. "And everyone else too."

Dick blinked up at Stephanie before laying his head back on her shoulder. "'M tired. And achy."

"I think we all are." Stephanie held back a giggle. She looked up at Bruce. "So, bossman. What happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" All heads snapped over to Damian, who was just now sitting up. "We should all remember being de-aged. Our minds must have regressed as well."

Bruce nodded. "You all forgot being older. It was...chaotic at first."

"Well, we're all back now." Stephanie smiled.

"I wanna hear what happened. Did Cass try to stab anyone?" Jason looked between Bruce and Cass.

"She stabbed Damian." Bruce turned. "Now, come on. I'm sure that Alfred is wondering where everyone is."

"Is it dinner time?" Jason asked. "I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry." Tim said, rolling his eyes. Jason stuck his tongue out at him and ran off to the elevator. Dick climbed onto Stephanie's shoulders and asked her to run, to which she complied. Cass and Tim chased after them, wanting to get on the elevator before it left. Damian glanced at Bruce, who nodded. Damian nodded back and quickly walked after the others, leaving Bruce alone in the Batcave. He smiled and began walking to the elevator.

It was good to have his children back.

* * *

 **A/N: If you have any requests or prompts, feel free to send them to my tumblr, browniesarethebest!**


	11. The Park

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while. Finals were killer.**

* * *

"Jay! Jay! Play with me!" Dick tugged on his older brother's arm eagerly toward the jungle gym. Jason grinned and laughed, letting the younger boy pull him along. He had taken to being an older brother quickly and happily. Until Dick had come along, he had been the youngest at 11 years old, but now he got to be a big brother just like Tim and Damian. It's not that he didn't like being a younger brother, but it was nice not being the youngest.

Tim and Stephanie watched from a picnic table where they were both doing homework. Dick and Jason had begged to be taken to the park. Bruce was at work, Damian had already gone off to hang out with Colin, and Cass was on a field trip, leaving Tim and Stephanie to take them—not that they minded.

Jason and Dick climbed around on the jungle gym for a bit, where Dick showed off his flexibility by bending around the bars. Then, they went down the slides over and over. At one point, the even raced up the slide a couple times. The boys then ran to the swings, where Dick showed off his skills by flipping off the swings. They eventually got bored with that and began to play Tag.

Tim took his eyes off them for a minute to work out a problem when he felt a tap on his leg. He looked down to see Dick beaming up at him.

"Tag! You're it!"

"Dick, I have homework to do. I can't—"

Stephanie stole Tim's book and stood up. "If you wanna do your homework, Tim, you're gonna have to tag someone!" She ran off with Dick quickly following.

Tim sighed, staring down at the table as if to ask 'why me?'. He noticed Dick watching him, his smile slowly falling as Tim had yet to stand, and sighed again. He climbed out of the picnic table and immediately sprinted after Stephanie, trying to catch her by surprise (and get his book back). Stephanie noticed and shrieked. She ran off with Dick not far behind.

Dick, seeing that Tim was focused on Stephanie, veered away from her and towards Jason, who was watching everyone with a grin on his face. When he saw Dick running towards him, his grin widened. He gestured to Dick to keep quiet and led him to the playground. They climbed inside one of the tunnels and crouched, watching as Tim continued to chase Stephanie.

"Why aren't we playing with them?" Dick whispered.

"'Cause this is much more fun. Let's see how long it takes them to notice that we're gone. Then, we'll be playing hide n' seek when they try to find us."

"Ohhh…" Dick nodded.

"It'll probably be awhile though." Jason said, watching as Stephanie put more distance between her and Tim. "Tim's a slowpoke compared to the rest of us."

"He is the smartest though."

Jason snorted. "Maybe you think so. I think Damian thinks he's the smartest. And I think I'm the smartest."

"Why's that?" Dick was confused. Dick thought that all of his brothers were smart, but Timmy was obviously the smartest to him. Timmy was really good with computers and was taking advanced classes. He read a lot more than the others too.

"Damian thinks he's better at everything, which he's wrong 'cause no one is better at everything . I'm smarter 'cause I got street smarts. They're the most important smarts."

"Why's that?" Dick asked as he watched Stephanie taunt Tim by waving his book at him. He heard Tim yell for Stephanie to give it back, but she just ran off.

"'Cause you need them to survive on the streets. If you don't got street smarts, you die. And that's why I'm the smartest. I survived. If you put Timmy on the streets, he probably wouldn't—at least at my age he wouldn't have."

"Oh…" Dick frowned. Jason didn't talk about his life before meeting Batman often. "What about Dami?"

"He probably could survive, but not in the way people usually do. Dami's a loner. He wouldn't know where to go for food and shelter. He'd be able to get it on his own, sure, but you gotta know people—the right people—if you wanna find better food and shelter."

Dick nodded, absorbing this information. "I think I get it."

"Good." Jason watched as Tim melted into the trees when Stephanie wasn't looking. When she walked by, looking for him, Tim leapt down and tackled her. He stood and held his book up victoriously. Tim paused and looked around, finally noticing that the two younger children had disappeared. "Looks like they finally noticed that we're not playing Tag anymore."

Dick giggled. "Took them a while."

Jason laughed quietly before shushing Dick. "Now we gotta be quiet so they don't find us."

Dick nodded eagerly, putting his hands over his mouth to stifle his giggles.

Meanwhile, Tim and Stephanie were running around in a panic, calling out for Dick and Jason.

"Bruce is gonna _murder_ us." Stephanie moaned as she searched the bushes.

"Not if Damian gets to us first." Tim looked around the seemingly empty playground. It was getting late, so all the families had gone home—it was never safe being outdoors at night in Gotham. Tim was really starting to get worried now. Sure, they all knew how to defend themselves, but he would rather not be caught in Gotham at night. His eyes suddenly locked onto the tunnels.

Were those heads that just ducked down?

Tim made eye contact with Stephanie and subtly gestured to the tunnels. Stephanie smirked, an idea forming in her head. She whispered into Tim's ear, and a smirk slowly formed on his face. They both walked to the trees and disappeared.

"Jason?" Dick peered out of the the tunnel worriedly. "They're gone."

"What?" Jason looked out, but he couldn't see them. "Where did they go?"

"Did they leave us?" Dick's lip wobbled. "Did they not want us anymore? 'Cause we hid from them?"

"Of course not!" Jason wrapped his arm around Dick. "Maybe they're playing Hide n' Seek too."

Dick sniffled and wiped at his nose. "You think so?"

"I'm sure so." But Jason wasn't. He had his own insecurities—Damian and Bruce weren't exactly forthcoming with their emotions, except with Dick. He couldn't blame Dick though. If Dick had any superpowers, it was the ability to make everyone love him. Jason didn't have that ability, so sometimes he wondered.

Jason and Dick peered out of the tunnel again when Tim and Stephanie suddenly popped up on both sides of the tunnel. "Boo!"

Jason and Dick screamed, jumping so high that Jason hit his head on the ceiling.

Dick pouted. "That wasn't nice!"

Stephanie crawled inside and pulled Dick into her arms. "Well, it wasn't very nice for you to hide from us."

"It was Jason's idea!"

"Hey!" Jason squirmed away as Tim made a grab for him. "You went along with it!"

"Whether or not it was Jason's idea, we should be getting home." Tim finally managed to get ahold of Jason and dragged him out of the tunnel. "It's getting late. I'm sure Alfred's getting worried."

"You think he's gonna take dessert away." Dick asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll understand." Stephanie said as she pulled Dick out of the tunnel and walked towards the car. Tim was close behind her with a struggling Jason.

"I can walk on my own!" Jason finally managed to break out of Tim's arms and landed on his feet. He stuck his tongue out at Tim and ran ahead.

Tim sighed and shook his head while Stephanie and Dick laughed.

"Hurry up!" Jason waved from the car. "I heard Alfred was making chicken tonight! And rolls!"

This only caused Stephanie to laugh harder as Tim joined in. Stephanie and Tim broke into a jog and got into the car, quickly speeding off.

After all, Alfred was making chicken tonight.

* * *

 **A/N: If you have any requests or prompts, feel free to send them to my tumblr, browniesarethebest!**


	12. Mommy Cat

**A/N: Sorry for abandoning this for so long. I've updated on other websites, I just haven't really been on Fanfiction in a long time. I decided to update some stuff on here though, so here we are! You should be seeing some more stuff soon. Thanks for being patient with me!**

* * *

Catwoman swung across the rooftops, waiting for her Bat to come and find her. Their meetings were always entertaining—in more ways than one. Bruce could deny all he wanted, but he flirted with her and enjoyed it.

She was debating robbing a bank to draw him out when she saw a figure on the next rooftop. It was much to small to be her Bat. She hopped over, curious, and saw the smallest of Batman's children, Robin, peering out at Gotham. He seemed to be searching the rooftops but whirled around when he heard her land behind him.

"Catwoman!" Robin appeared to be both happy and nervous to see her, piquing her curiosity.

"Hello, little bird." Catwoman smiled at the boy. She had a soft spot for him—more than Bruce's other children, though that might have been because he was the youngest (and the cutest). "Were you looking for me?"

Robin glanced away and nodded quickly. He seemed to be hiding something behind his back. She quirked an eyebrow but stayed silent. She would let him talk first.

"I—I have something for you." Robin bit his lip and thrust his present into her hands. She looked down at it cautiously.

...It was a card.

Robin looked down at his feet with a blush. He fiddled with the edge of his cape, wrapping it around his body like a security blanket. "My art teacher wanted everyone to make a Mother's Day card. I—I tried to tell her that my mom...she…" Robin swallowed and clenched his fists. "The teacher didn't listen. She said it wasn't fair if everyone else had to make one and I didn't. She said I could just throw it away after we were done."

Selena was silent for a moment. "...So why are you giving this to me?"

Robin turned away. "I didn't want to throw it away, and you—Bruce and you are really close and you're nice to me when we aren't chasing you 'cause you stole something. You're like a...um…" He hesitated. "If—If Bruce had to marry someone and they had to become my—my new mom, I'd like it if he married you." There. He got it out.

Catwoman was frozen. She glanced down at the glittered monstrosity of a card, finally realizing that the messy handwriting said 'Happy Mother's Day', and opened it. Inside was a crude drawing of her and Robin holding hands and smiling. Selena's chest warmed at the sight.

She looked over at Robin, whose fidgeting had gotten worse as he waited for her reply. "Oh, little bird…"

Catwoman knelt in front of the boy and carefully wrapped her arms around him. It was a little awkward—she wasn't used to giving affection (at least the kind that didn't involve her Bat), and the boy had stiffened at her touch. He slowly relaxed, melting into the hug.

Catwoman pulled away slowly and put her hands on his shoulders, making sure to not damage the card she was holding. She looked into the whites of his mask. "Thank you. I love your card." She couldn't help but smirk. "And I would also like it if I was the one Bruce married."

Robin smiled shyly at her. He looked away for a moment, a contemplating look on his face, before he ran in and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He released her and backed up to the edge of the roof, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Catwoman! Happy Mother's Day!" He jumped off the roof and grappled away, leaving Selena to watch after him. His delighted laugh caused her to smile as her heart warmed. She waited for him to disappear from her sight before taking off herself. She looked down at the card once more and decided she could take a break from the banks and museums tonight; she had to make sure the card got home safely.

"Happy Mother's Day, my little bird." Catwoman took off. She had plans to make with Brucie.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this was a short chapter, but some of the others should be longer so look out for those soon!**


	13. Talia

Dick was happily eating cereal in the dining room when Damian stormed in and sat down roughly in the chair across from him. Dick paused, blinking, and put his spoon down.

"You okay, Dami?"

"I'm fine." Damian snapped, causing Dick to flinch slightly. He was used to Damian's anger—that was just who he was—but it still hurt when he was mean sometimes.

"Master Damian." Alfred reprimanded Damian as he set a mug of black coffee in front of him.

Damian glanced away from both of them. "...I apologize, Richard."

"S'okay." Dick tilted his head. "Did something happen? Did you ask Colin to come over and he said no?"

"What?" Damian was snapped out of his thoughts for a moment. "No. It's none of your concern, Richard."

Dick puffed his cheeks out. "Is too. You're upset, and not your usual upset where you're grumpy all the time and pretend to hate everyone."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah! And you gotta tell me what's wrong so I can make you feel better."

Damian sighed. "It's not something you can make better, Richard." Damian hesitated and eyed Alfred, waiting for him to leave the room before speaking again. "...My mother contacted me last night."

Dick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Your mami contacted you? Is—Is that a bad thing?"

Damian paused, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as well. "Of course it is. Didn't anyone tell you about her?"

Dick shook his head. He knew that Damian had come to the Manor when he was ten years old, surprising Bruce. He had never been told why though. He had always assumed that Damian's mami was dead since no one ever talked about her. He never exactly asked though, not wanting to pry into the other's lives. Parents were always a taboo subject in the Batfamily.

Damian pursed his lips and looked away. "Did anyone tell you who the League of Assassins were?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah. Bruce was teaching me about bad guys and mentioned them. He said that…" Dick's face screwed up in thought for a moment. "...Ra's al Ghul was the leader? Is that right?"

Damian nodded back at him. "Yes. Ra's has a daughter named Talia...She's my mother."

Dick was silent for a moment. "...So your mami was a bad guy like Steph's tati was?"

Damian scoffed. "Cluemaster was nowhere close to my mother's level. Cluemaster was an idiot. My mother…" Damian fell silent. Even after fourteen years, six of which they have not spoken, thinking about his mother still caused pain in his heart. He had voluntarily chosen his father over her, but she had chosen the League over him and Bruce. After all these years, it still hurt.

Dick bit his lip. "What did she say?"

"She wants to meet up with me."

"Did she say why?"

Damian shook his head and clenched his fists under the table. "No, and she refused to take 'no' for an answer."

"Where does she want to meet?"

Damian narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

Dick beamed. "'Cause I'm coming with you, of course."

Damian stood and grabbed his mug. "No."

"But Dami!" Dick stood as well and ran after Damian. "I can be there so that you won't be alone when you see her!" He'd also be there to make sure she didn't do anything to hurt Damian, but Dick thought that Damian would get mad if he said that.

" _ **No!**_ " Damian whirled around and glared at Dick. "I do not want you _anywhere_ near my mother. She is manipulative and evil. I do not want to think of what she could do to you."

Dick was a little hurt by Damian's anger, but he understood. "Okay. I won't come with. Just—Just be careful, 'kay?"

Damian nodded. "Of course. I'll be fine. I would appreciate if you did not tell anyone about this."

"I won't!" Damian walked off with his coffee, leaving Dick alone. Dick knew he should tell Bruce about Damian's mami, but he knew Dami would be mad if he said anything. He couldn't let Dami deal with his problem alone though. If something happened, Dick would forever feel guilty about not doing anything. So Dick made up his mind.

He was going to follow Damian to his meeting.

* * *

Dick was so going to get in trouble for this, but he could always say he was working on his stealth skills.

While Damian had been brooding upstairs, Dick had gathered some trackers and placed them on Damian's motorcycle and any car of Bruce's that Dick had seen him drive, making sure there was at least two on each vehicle. Damian was paranoid and would probably search for any bugs or trackers before leaving. He wasn't sure how Damian was going to get to the meeting, or where he was even going, so he felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

After finishing with that, Dick grabbed some snacks from the kitchen and stuffed them in an extra pouch in his utility belt as he got dressed. He then hid in Rexy and waited.

After a few hours (and some of Alfred's cookies), Dick was about ready to fall asleep when one of his trackers was suddenly activated. He sat up in Rexy's mouth and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't heard Dami come into the Cave which meant that he had taken one of Bruce's cars. Dick mentally patted himself on the back and jumped down from Rexy. He raced over to his motorcycle, which he was totally not allowed to drive without supervision but this was an emergency, and hopped on, racing out of the Batcave.

Damian had found one of the trackers in the car, but not the one in the Shadowbat toy, which had happened to be in the car from their last trip (Dick had wondered where that toy had gone).

It seemed that Damian was heading for the Gotham Docks. Dick decided to take the long way there so that he didn't accidentally run into Damian.

By the time he got to the docks, Damian had already parked and was standing in front of a woman and some people that looked like ninjas. Dick climbed on top of the closest warehouse and sat silently, trying to listen to the conversation.

"Hello, my son." Talia took a step forward—as if she was going to hug her son—but Damian took a step back.

"What do you want, Mother?" Damian growled.

"Can't I just want to see my son?" Talia tilted her head to the side and softened her expression. "I have missed you."

Damian narrowed his eyes. "We have not spoken in six years. You obviously want something, so just tell me what it is so we can end this."

Talia sighed. "You get your impatience from your father. Very well. I have watched you and your father over the years and recently, he has been taking in a bunch secondhand children." Dick was hurt by that comment. "While I do not understand his reasons, he obviously has no need for you anymore. Come back to the League, Damian. Take your place as the Heir to the Demon." Talia held her hand out. "Stand by my and your grandfather's side once more."

Damian was silent, floored by his mother's accusations and offer. Talia took his silence as him contemplating and took another step forward.

"I sent you to your father to learn his ways and eventually take his place as the Batman. It has been fourteen years and that has not happened. It may never happen with his other...proteges vying for his mantle. Come home, Damian. Come home to your true family."

Damian stayed silent, scaring Dick. Was he really considering leaving their family just to go with his mother? Even after all the mean things she said about them? Plus, she was wrong! All of them needed Damian! He was the oldest besides Bruce. He was the original partner of the Batman. He was loved and wanted by all of his family. Couldn't he see that?

Dick couldn't take the silence anymore and leapt forward with a cry. "Dami, no!"

Heads snapped up as the young boy landed and bounded to Batman's oldest. He jumped into the man's arms, which wrapped around him automatically. Damian stared down at him, shocked.

"Richard, what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Dick sniffled and wrapped his arms around Damian's neck. "I put a tracker in my Shadowbat toy. It's in your car." He looked up at Damian with watery eyes. "Are you really gonna leave us? I don't want you to go!"

Talia watched on with distaste. "This must be my beloved's newest adoptee. Richard, right?"

Dick looked over at Talia and glared at her. "You leave Dami alone! He's the bestest big brother, and everyone loves him! You're mean and a liar and—and ugly!" Alfred would not be happy if he heard Dick say that.

Talia's expression screwed up in disgust. "My beloved's choices in children has seemed to deteriorate. The Drake child was okay, as was the Cain girl, but this circus child will clearly ruin his name. No manners at all, this one. Absolutely _abhorrent_."

Damian finally snapped. "You will **not** talk to him that way." He sent his mother a glare that made petty criminals wet themselves. "You made it clear years ago that you did not wish to see me anymore, and I you. Now should be no different. As much as my siblings annoy me at times, they have been more caring than you ever were. _Leave_ , and do not contact me again."

Talia was silent for a moment before raising her chin. "I see. You are truly lost then." Talia backed away, sending a glare at Dick. "We will see each other again, my son, but it will not be under friendly terms. Goodbye. I hope you do not regret your decision."

Talia and the assassins boarded a small boat and took off. Damian waited for the boat to disappear from his sight before carrying Dick to the car. He strapped Dick in before pausing.

"Richard...How did you get here?"

Dick grinned sheepishly. "I took the motorcycle here."

Damian stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a grin. "Well, we should make sure we get that home before Father finds out. Luckily, it has autopilot built into it."

Dick giggled as Damian went around the car and slid into the front seat. He tapped on his phone before turning on the car. As he drove, he looked in the rearview mirror to look at Richard. "...Thank you for coming to the meeting. You went directly against my wishes, but...thank you."

Dick beamed at him. "S'no problem! I had to make sure you were okay!"

By the time they made it back to the Manor, Dick was asleep in the backseat. Damian gently unbuckled him and lifted him out of the car. As he carried Dick inside, taking him down to the Batcave and changing him out of his Robin costume, Damian couldn't help but let a small smile slip out.

He had definitely made the right choice.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this was a short chapter, but some of the others should be longer so look out for those soon!**


	14. Don't Show Dick Part 1

**Warning: Spoilers for Stone Fox, Marley & Me, and Eight Below**

* * *

"Timmyyyyyyy!" Tim sighed as he felt a tug on his arm. He set his book down on the table and looked over the armchair to see a little face peeking up at him with begging eyes.

"Yes, Dick?"

Dick beamed and came around the armchair. He slapped a large book into Tim's lap, causing an 'oof' to escape him. Dick pushed the book over and scrambled— _kneeinthecrotchkneeinthecrotch_ —into Tim's lap. He beamed up at the teen and held the book up.

"Read to me, please." Tim took the book and looked at the title, Stone Fox.

Tim pursed his lips. "Dick, I don't think this is the book for you."

Dick pouted up at him. "But there's a dog in it! Please? Pretty please?"

"Dick, I really don't think you'll like how it ends. It's a—"

"Don't tell me!" Dick slapped his hands against Tim's mouth. "No spoilers! That's Steph's job!"

Tim snorted at the pun but still frowned. "I'm serious, Dick. You won't like the ending."

Dick crossed his arms. "I don't care. It's about a dog, like Titus and Ace!" Dick looked up at Tim with wide eyes that began to water. "Please, Timmy? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

As much as Tim did **not** want to read Dick this story, no one could resist the puppy dog eyes, not even Damian. He sighed, causing Dick to cheer, and hoped that the outcome wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be.

"Fine. Fine. Stone Fox." Tim opened up the book and began to read to Dick.

* * *

"What did you do?!" Stephanie covered her ears as wails filled the Manor.

"I tried to warn him!" Tim winced as the wails grew louder. He wasn't even in the same room as Dick anymore. Bruce was in the library instead, trying to calm the poor boy down. "I knew it had a sad ending! I knew he'd be upset! I told him he wouldn't like the ending, but he refused to pick another book!"

"Did he use the eyes?" Stephanie asked. Tim nodded, causing her to sigh.

"You tried your best, Tim." Stephanie shook her head. "Those eyes get the best of us." Another wail sounded. "But you should have tried harder!"

"Damian is going to kill me." Tim ran a hand through his hair.

"What is wrong?" Stephanie and Tim jumped at Cass's voice. They whirled around to find her standing behind them, rubbing her eye.

"Shit, were you sleeping?" Cass nodded.

"I'm sorry, Cass." Tim said. "Dick wanted me to read him a book. I tried to tell him he wouldn't like the ending, but he wouldn't listen."

"What ending?"

"The dog died."

Cass nodded, a look of contemplation on her face. She nodded again and marched into the library, where Bruce was still trying to calm Dick down.

"It's okay, Dick! It's just a story. It's not real." Bruce rubbed the boy's back, but nothing was working.

Cass suddenly marched up and kneeled in front of Dick. She put her hands on his shoulders, causing a break in his sobs. "We will watch a movie."

Dick hiccupped and rubbed at his noise. "We will?"

Cass nodded and picked the boy up. He was still crying, but it was much quieter now. She carried him out of the library and smirked at the shocked looks on Tim and Stephanie's faces. She walked into the living room and set Dick down on the couch.

"Lilo and Stitch." Dick nodded, and Cass began setting up the movie.

An hour later, Dick felt much better as he watched the movie. He was sad when Stitch was going to be taken away, but he knew the movie had a happy ending. He had just about gotten over the Stone Fox issue when the movie ended.

"Can we watch another movie?" Dick asked. Cass nodded. Dick got up and searched the DVDs before lighting up and picking one out.

"Let's watch this one! It has a dog on it!"

Cass took the DVD and looked at the cover. There was a cute yellow dog (Cass didn't know the name of the species) with a red ribbon around its neck.

 _Marley & Me._

It looked cute enough, and maybe it would push the last thoughts of the dog dying in Stone Fox out of Dick's head. Certain that it would help, Cass put the DVD in and started the movie.

* * *

"At least it's not my fault this time." Stephanie and Cass glared at Tim as Dick bawled in the living room. Bruce was once again trying to calm the poor boy down.

"So what did you do?" Stephanie asked Cass. Cass held up the DVD, causing Stephanie and Tim to groan.

"You hadn't seen that one yet, had you?" Cass shook her head, her eyes sad with guilt (not to mention sad from the ending of the movie).

Stephanie sighed and peeked into the living room. "Well, at least Damian and Jason are gone."

"That doesn't help us calm Dick down." Tim frowned. "What do we do?"

Stephanie's eyes lit up as an idea popped into her head. "Who wants ice cream~" She sang as she entered the living room.

Dick paused in his crying. "Ice cream?"

"We'll get anything you want."

Dick sniffled and wiped his nose. "Really?"

"Uh huh." Stephanie picked the boy up and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "But only if it'll make you feel better. Would it help?"

Dick nodded. "Uh huh."

"Great! Let's go then!" As Stephanie walked out of the room with Dick in her arms, she caught Tim and Cass's eyes and growled quietly. "Deal with anything that even hints at a dog dying while we're gone."

Tim and Cass nodded, so Stephanie smiled and left, talking to Dick about all the flavors she wanted to try.

When Damian and Jason later came home and found stuff missing (movies, books, magazines, etc) and the mysterious remains of a fire in the backyard, Jason only had one question.

"Hey, where's our DVD of Eight Below? Dick and I wanted to watch it."

"NO!"

* * *

 **A/N: Feel free to send prompts or ask questions or just talk to me at browniesarethebest on Tumblr!**


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